DarkClan: The Beginning
by AsterEris
Summary: DarkClan and LightClan were there in the beginning. They were the two great clans of the lake territories, masters of the forests, the lake, the moors...and the tunnels. This is the story of Moonpaw, Nightpaw, and Twilightpaw, three very special cats...
1. Voting CLOSED

**For DarkClan: (two at most)**

Moonpaw of DarkClan (8)

Wildkit of DarkClan (3)

**For LightClan: (two at most)**

Twilightpaw of LightClan (5)

Nightpaw of LightClan (5)

Rosekit of LightClan (3)

You may notice that I didn't underline Wildkit and Rosekit – that is because they may make occasional appearances in later chapters, to tell the story from a younger point of view.

I will soon be deleting all of the previous chapters, so if for some reasons you want to pour over a certain chapter a hundred times just for kicks, do it now. Just kidding… :)

**DarkClan:**

**Leader:** Tigerstar: light orange tabby tom with jet-black stripes and amber eyes

_Apprentice: Moonpaw_

**Deputy: **Stripedleg: large white tom, faint black stripes on left hind leg, cold amber eyes

_Apprentice: Foxpaw_

**Medicine cat:** Silverpool: silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes

**Warriors:**

Rainwhisker: dark brown tom with black stripes, thick, bushy tail (Maine coon)

Coldheart: blue-gray tabby tom with oatmeal undercoat and dark green eyes (by: I Be Guest)

_Apprentice: Lunarpaw_

Graythroat: light gray tom with white throat, underbelly, and paws, amber eyes

Honeyheart: light golden tabby she-cat with green eyes

_Apprentice: Greenpaw_

Silverswift: silver tabby she-cat with black stripes and long bushy tail

_Apprentice: Firepaw_

Brownback: large black and brown tom

_Apprentice: Brightpaw_

Spottedpelt: small gray-white tom, light brown dapples

Blackclaw: dark black tabby she-cat with long black claws, white underbelly, blue eyes (mate – Spottedpelt)

Ravenflight: raven-black she-cat with dark amber eyes

Nightsky: dark blue-black tom, black paws with dark bluish tips on ears, eyes are odd dark blue-purple

Snowheart: white tom with blue eyes

Darkmoon: white tom with black moon-shaped spot on his forehead, red eyes

**Apprentices:**

Moonpaw: silvery white she-cat with pale blue eyes

Foxpaw: dark ginger tom with white-tipped tail and green eyes

Lunarpaw: black tom with golden eyes and long claws

Greenpaw: small golden colored tom with two dull green eyes, long tail

Firepaw: short-haired bright orange tabby she-cat, white underbelly, bright green eyes

Brightpaw: light golden she-cat with blue eyes

**Queens:**

Berrytail long-furred ginger and white she-cat, blue eyes (mate – Tigerstar)

_Kits: Hollykit, Stormkit, Larkkit, cares for Wildkit (his parents are dead)_

Longleaf: light brown, almost white, tabby she-cat (mate – Rainwhisker)

Frostflower: white, almost blue she-cat with blue eyes (mate – Snowheart)

_Kits: Willowkit, Applekit, Silverkit, Nightkit_

Browntail: brown she-cat, large blue eyes (mate – Stripedleg)

_Kits: soon to be born_

Dreamcry: black she-cat with a white face, tail-tip and hind paw (mate – Darkmoon)

_Kits: Twilightkit, Ravenkit, Echokit, Icekit, Shadowkit_

**Elders:**

Ratfur: very old, bad-tempered ginger and white patched tom, watery yellow eyes

Deadfur: dark gray tom, dark yellow eyes

Leopardpelt: dark gray she-cat, dark faded golden spots on belly, dark yellow eyes

Hearttail: white she-cat with one silver paw, ear, and tail-tip, amber eyes

Crowclaw: gray-black tom, bright amber eyes

**LightClan:**

**Leader:** Turtlestar: small, light brown tabby tom w/ flecks of black, marshy green eyes w/ hazel specks

**Deputy: **Stoneclaw: dark gray tom with green eyes, long claws

_Apprentice: Nightpaw_

**Medicine cat:** Littleleaf: small dark brown tabby tom with pale green eyes – unusually blind

_Apprentice: Twilightpaw_

**Warriors:**

Fawnheart: brown tabby she-cat, green eyes, dark silver feet and chest

_Apprentice: Oceanpaw_

Frostfoot: silver and black tabby she-cat with amber eyes

_Apprentice: Glazepaw_

Firefeather: beautiful red and white tabby she-cat with amber eyes (by: I Be Guest)

_Apprentice: Flamepaw_

Sablemask: brown-golden tom, large yellow eyes

_Apprentice: Lightpaw_

Jaywing: blue-gray tom with light blue eyes

_Apprentice: Dawnpaw_

Dawnsdust: dark tabby she-cat with yellow-green eyes

**Apprentices:**

Twilightpaw: twilight black tom, silver patches, dark gray stripes on forehead, legs, tail, and chest, small silver-gray spots on paws, a little ways up legs and underbelly, silver-white/gray-white fur makes his ears and tail stick out. also some white over nose and under eyes, fades to silver-white, then gray-silver, then dark gray then to black, blind. (by: San child of the wolves)

Nightpaw: small tom with night-black pelt, very dark gray stripe down his back, blue eyes

Oceanpaw: very light brown she-cat w/ silver flecks, green eyes, silver feet and muzzle

Glazepaw: large light brown tabby tom, golden eyes, silver legs, black tail-tip

Flamepaw: dark ginger she-cat with a white muzzle, paws and tail-tip, amber eyes

Dawnpaw: dark blue-gray she-cat with green eyes

Lightpaw: slender seal gray tabby tom with silver legs and emerald eyes (by: I Be Guest)

**Queens:**

Lightsky: pale golden queen with amber eyes

_Kits: cares for Rosekit (her parents were rogues, they abandoned her)_

Firetalon: reddish she-cat with dark blue eyes

_Kits: Black-kit_

**Elders:**

Icecliff: light grey and black tom, dark green eyes and torn ear

Yewdrop: dark brown tabby she-cat, black muzzle and chest, white paws

**Loners/Rogues:**

Gecko: unusually thin and bony pale ginger and white speckled tom, large yellow eyes, acts as a sort of messenger from outside the Clan territories for LightClan

Cloud: pure white tom with amber eyes, lives near LightClan territory (Rosekit is his half sister)

Jasper: jet-black rogue with dark blue eyes (Black-kit of LightClan is his daughter, Firetalon of LightClan his mate)

Nightshade: tortoiseshell and white rogue – was once a warrior of DarkClan, left after she was wrongly accused of murdering the former deputy, Blacktail. She is determined to clear her name someday, because she knows the true killer…


	2. Chapter 2

**So…the main characters are Moonpaw of DarkClan and Nightpaw of LightClan, with Twilightpaw of LightClan making frequent appearances as sort of co-main character. The reason I did this was because I already sort of had a story planned out for Moonpaw and Nightpaw as the voting was going on, and it fit the story and just…worked. Twilightpaw was tied with Nightpaw, so he has his own special part to play in the story, but it's like, TNP was mostly about Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw/flight, but Crowfeather, Stormfur and Feathertail had their own sort of side stories.**

**If people want to know, the DarkClan camp is in a clearing on the stream bank right on the border between ShadowClan and ThunderClan territories. It's not in the clearing labeled on the map in the books, but on that little peninsula in front of the Ancient Oak and next to the Halfbridge. If I refer to the northern side of camp, I mean the side closest to the lake, and the southern side is the opposite one. The LightClan camp is (get ready) **_**inside**_** Horseplace. In my story, Horseplace is abandoned…for the time being…**

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o0o By the way, this is sort of a prologue.**

A silver moon stared down at the DarkClan camp like a single, unblinking, celestial eye. Its glow bathed the forest clearing in a ghostly white radiance, casting weird shadows on the underside of the ferns that made up the camp wall. It was a fairly simple site – a dip in the ground enclosed by thick green undergrowth, with a stream that ran through a corner, providing water for the cats who lived there. Directly the right of the stream, there was a boulder that pressed against the place where the dirt rose from its depression, and in the gap behind it was a cave that smelled strongly of herbs and fresh leaves. The medicine den.

The front of the camp rested on the crest of a hill that formed its northern wall – one could sit inside the camp and look out over a small lake that stretched before them. The leaders den was deep within the shelter of the gnarled root system of a fallen tree. The other dens – elder, apprentices, warriors, and the nursery, were nestled into the undergrowth at the edge of the hollow, woven from twigs and brambles and the existing shrubs. And, barely visible in the odd light, there was another tunnel – perhaps it led to another den of some sort, or a store of herbs – that bore straight into the bank on the landside of the clearing, hidden in a maze of brambles

On this night in particular, the wind that blew in from the lake was cold. There was no doubt that leaf-fall was approaching, bringing about the end of the warm, easy green-leaf. The taste of rain was in the air.

Most of the DarkClan cats were in their dens. The frigid air drove almost all of the warm-blooded creatures to seek shelter, and even hardened warrior cats loved their warmth. But there were some who were up and about – two cats, a large black and brown tom and dark blue-black tom, guarded the gap in the ferns on the southern side of camp that was the entrance, while one, a small dappled tom, was stationed at the mouth of the shielded tunnel.

"I don't like it, Silverpool," came an anxious murmur from the shadows of the leader's den within the roots of the fallen tree. No moonlight penetrated the thick covering that kept out the rain and snow, and the two cats that were huddled inside had their pelts fluffed against the cold, their pupils wide and black.

"It's only a winter storm, Tigerstar," replied a light, delicate voice that belonged to a slender silver tabby she-cat who was crouched inside the den beside her leader, a pale orange tom with dark stripes streaking his fur that had earned him his fearsome name.

"I'm sure it's nothing, but you know that we planned to hold Firepaw's warrior ceremony tomorrow at sun-high. If it rains…"

Silverpool let out an exasperated sigh. "If it rains we will postpone the ceremony for a few days, and no one will be any worse off. I'm sure young Firepaw will be disappointed, but surely she would rather wait than drown."

Tigerstar's eyes flashed. "That's a cruel joke, Silverpool."

The silver she-cat narrowed her pale blue eyes and rose to her feet. "Rain is rain, Tigerstar. DarkClan had always dealt with rain, and I know you don't like change."

With a flick of her silver tail, the medicine cat slipped out of her leader's den and loped back to her own, slithering through the gap behind the boulder and disappearing in a wake of herb-scent.

Tigerstar remained awake for a long moment. He sat with the guards for a while, saying nothing. It was apparent to them that there was something troubling the amber-eyed warrior, and all cats knew that he hated being spoken to while thinking. Finally, when the moon was at its highest point in the black night sky, he rose to his feet, nodded to each of the cats on watch, and disappeared into his den. When another group of warriors came to relieve the first, they discovered that he was sound asleep, curled in a tight ball amidst a nest of moss and feathers.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, so I hope you liked the first chapter. Yeah, it was cool. Here's chapter two, from Moonpaw of DarkClan's point of view. Oh, and by the way…the Moonpool does sort of exist, but the medicine cats of the two Clans have their own little places where they communicate with StarClan within the territory. They meet there every quarter moon, but they don't have to go all that way to dream with StarClan – you'll see.**

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o The Next Day 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

The next morning did not bring rain. Dark clouds were gathered at the edges of the sky, but it seemed that the storm would not reach the lake territories, at least not by sun-high. Firepaw's warrior ceremony would be performed quickly, before there was any danger of a flood.

Moonpaw awoke with the sun, blinking pale blue eyes as sleep slowly drained from her body. Her den mates around her were still caught in their dreams, enjoying a few more moments of rest before another busy day began.

Hungry and thirsty, Moonpaw got to her feet, stretched, and trotted out of the apprentices' den, into the fine mist that cloaked the DarkClan camp. There were few cats awake at this hour, but Moonpaw was content to wait. She selected a plump finch from the fresh-kill pile that had yet to be stocked for the day, and quickly devoured. She lapped a few drops of water from the stream and dipped in her paws, wincing at the cold.

Birdsong began to whistle through the trees – Moonpaw always enjoyed watching the world wake up around her. It came in stages – first the sun broke through the thick curtain of fog and illuminated what the night had left in shadow. The birds were the first ones to notice it and herald its coming, and all the other animals soon followed. Predator and prey alike, it seemed all mammals depended on the sun to start them on their daily routine.

"How are you always up so early, Moonpaw?" came a weary meowed from behind her. Moonpaw turned from where she was crouched on the crest of the hill overlooking the lake. It was Firepaw, the apprentice whose warrior ceremony was to be held that day.

"I think I'm very sensitive to the sun," Moonpaw replied quietly, a small smile lighting up her silver face.

Firepaw snorted. "Sensitive to the sun! I'd give a whisker or two to be less sensitive to the sun than I already am. I don't know what kind of mouse-brained fool doesn't enjoy sleep."

Moonpaw's smile grew wider. "It's not that I don't enjoy my sleep – definitely not. I enjoy my sleep very much, thank you. I just can't seem to hold on to it for long enough to take it back once it's decided to go."

Firepaw glared at her. "And you're also way too perky in the morning," she snapped, by way of ending the conversation.

By this time, most of the apprentices were awake – it had become a habit, at least of the older ones, to wake as early as possible, and wait for their mentors to rise. A lot of the time they earned extra hours at the end of the day for this behavior. Moonpaw hadn't used to think of her early rising as a good thing, but a few days in the apprentices' den had definitely made it so.

Greenpaw had come stumbling drowsily to Firepaw's side – she entwined her tail with his and they sauntered away to do who knew what. Moonpaw turned away with a pang of remorse.

"I'm glad you're awake early, Moonpaw," rumbled a new, deep voice. Moonpaw looked up, unsurprised, into the amber eyes of her mentor, Tigerstar.

"Aren't I always?" she replied.

Tigerstar laughed, a great, rumbling sound akin to thunder, and dipped his head. "That's true. Anyway, today we have border patrol," he meowed, leading the way out of camp.

Moonpaw sighed, trotting obediently at his heels. "Can't we hunt or something on the way?" she suggested hopefully, nodding to Coldheart and her brother Lunarpaw as they fell into step behind her.

"Not this time," Tigerstar meowed. The discussion was clearly over. Resigned, Moonpaw fell back, allowing Coldheart to run with his leader and she to run beside her fellow apprentice.

"How's training?" she asked him casually. Lunarpaw was touchy, but he liked to talk about training and battles and warrior stuff. The black tom glanced sideways at her with a dismissive expression.

"Good," he replied vaguely, looking away. Moonpaw rolled her eyes. They had only been apprentices for the better part of a moon – hardly long enough to think of training as just another daily chore.

"What have you been doing?" she persisted. Lunarpaw looked at her again, this time a flicker of annoyance in his brilliant golden eyes.

"A lot of stuff! Same as you, probably, so don't be such a hedgehog."

Moonpaw's eyebrows jumped. "_Hedgehog?_" She leaped over a log, still keeping pace with the older warriors. She had always been a pretty fast runner.

Lunarpaw released a disdainful sigh. "Look, it's something I learned from Foxpaw, alright? Hedgehogs stick their noses in places where they shouldn't, kay? No need to be an annoying little sister _all_ the time."

"Annoying little sister? I'm just as old as you, Lunarpaw," retorted Moonpaw indignantly. Lunarpaw gave her a full on glare and leaped ahead, his tail lashing.

Moonpaw emitted her second weary sigh of the morning and cleared another log, staying just behind Tigerstar's heels. They reached the LightClan border a moment later, and Tigerstar waved his tail, a sign to stop. Moonpaw halted at his shoulder, lifting her nose to the air.

"It smells like a LightClan patrol is close by," murmured Coldheart in a voice that seemed both edgy and soft at the same time. Moonpaw's scruff bristled. She had never liked the blue-gray tabby warrior – something about his detached manner made her skin prickle.

"They're close," Tigerstar announced. Moonpaw tried desperately to catch the scent of LightClan, but she couldn't seem to pinpoint it among all of the other LightClan smells that permeated the air around the border.

"There!" cried Lunarpaw. He was pointing with his tail to a tiny group of moving shapes, haring across the moor toward them. Finally, now that she was able to connect the sight with the scent, Moonpaw could detect it, but she had missed her chance at glory. She could sense Tigerstar's annoyance like a little electric shock that leapt between their pelts.

"I was looking over there," Moonpaw mewed weakly, but she knew it was a lame excuse.

Tigerstar ignored her and leaned forward, his eyes trained on the rapidly nearing patrol of LightClan cats.

"Five," Moonpaw muttered, as if it could make up for her lack of alertness the moment before. Tigerstar nodded in agreement.

The five cats slowed as they neared the border. "Tigerstar!" called one of them. The dark gray tom trotted up to the border and dipped his head to the DarkClan leader.

"Stoneclaw," Tigerstar acknowledged. Moonpaw recognized the name – the LightClan deputy. She looked the gray tom up and down with a calculating stare, and decided that he was a formidable enemy – she wouldn't want to meet him in battle alone.

"How are things in DarkClan?" Stoneclaw asked politely. Moonpaw saw Coldheart bristle, but the tabby warrior said nothing. It was merely a respectful inquiry, and Moonpaw was bothered that the tom had thought to take it has something more hostile.

The other four cats with Stoneclaw had similar coloring. _The Gray Patrol_, thought Moonpaw sardonically. The first was a pretty dark tabby she-cat, and beside her stood a blue-gray tom with striking light blue eyes. The next two were obviously apprentices – one was a handsome gray tom, and the other had the blackest pelt that Moonpaw had ever seen – darker than Lunarpaw's or Blackclaw's. He was handsome too – small but slender and lithe, with quiet, knowing blue eyes. Moonpaw blinked, gazing at him.

"Come on, Moonpaw, we're going," hissed Lunarpaw in her ear. Moonpaw snapped out of her reverie just as the black apprentice's eyes lifted and met hers.

"Sorry," she murmured, turning to follow the patrol. Lunarpaw gave her a warning look.

Tigerstar lead them along the rest of the boundary, but by that time sun-high as fast approaching, and he needed to be back in camp for Firepaw's ceremony. They returned to camp foot-sore and cold. Tigerstar went immediately to his den, but not before quietly ordering Moonpaw to bring Stripedleg, Silverpool, and Silverswift to him.

Moonpaw found the deputy in the nursery with his mate, the medicine cat in the elder's den treating Leopardpelt for a cough, and Silverswift asleep in the warrior's den. They all went without a word, leaving Moonpaw free to relax until the ceremony. She found Brightpaw munching on fresh-kill near the stump where apprentices ate, and they shared tongues for a while, soaking up what little warmth the pale leaf-fall sun offered.

"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather around the Widetunnel!" came Tigerstar's customary yowl. Moonpaw was jerked out of a comforting daydream about playing with Foxpaw and Lunarpaw as kits in the nursery, to find the cats of DarkClan already congregating by the bramble-shielded tunnel mouth.

Tigerstar stood at the head of the crowd. After her quietly surveyed the clearing, he waved his tail and disappeared into the black hole in the ground. Stripedleg and Silverpool followed him, Firepaw and her mentor at their heels. The rest of the Clan streamed in after them.

Moonpaw hesitated – she had only been inside the tunnel once before when she and Foxpaw and Lunarpaw had had their apprentice ceremonies in the Great Cave. Warriors used the tunnels as underground highways when stealth was necessary, but usually only medicine cats and leaders visited the black depths of the DarkClan tunnels. DarkClan cats were as comfortable underground in the dark as they were above, but no cave made up for the feeling of sun on your fur and wind in your whiskers.

"It's kind of creepy, huh?" whispered Brightpaw who was directly behind Moonpaw in the tunnel. Moonpaw brushed her tail over the she-cat's ears in answer – it felt wrong to speak when they were so close to the Starpool down here.

The Great Cave was a good ways away by tunnel – it took what seemed like at least half an hour to reach it, though it as probably only ten or so minutes. When Moonpaw entered the cave, it felt as if a great weight was lifted from her shoulders. Light penetrated the ceiling high above, casting a glowing aura around the Highstone that stood like a great Twoleg nest in the center of the massive cavern.

Tigerstar called it easily with one powerful leap, while his deputy, Stripedleg, had to scramble to reach its crest, and Firepaw had to be helped up by her leader. Silverpool seated herself on a second boulder that lay in the shadow of the Highstone. When all of the cats were settled on the cold, hard cavern floor, Tigerstar called Firepaw forward.

"Firepaw, you have trained hard to learn the ways of the noble code of StarClan, and through your determination and great spirit, I believe that you are ready to become a warrior."

A murmur of approval swept the crowd – Moonpaw could see Silverswift's eyes shining in a dark corner of the cave.

"From this moment on, you shall be known as Firestripes. I commend you to StarClan as a warrior in your turn."

Firestripes grinned and touched her nose to Tigerstar's shoulder respectfully, her bright green eyes shining.

"Firestripes! Firestripes! Firestripes! Firestripes!" chanted the cats of DarkClan. The sound echoed through the cavern, amplified by the close walls in the thunder of a thousand great warriors – Moonpaw was filled with a sense of immeasurable courage and power as the noise reverberated through her bones.

The ceremony was over as soon as it had begun. The Clan was led up out of the darkness and into the light. Firestripes and her mentor remained in the cave, where the new warrior would spend the night sitting vigil in the cave and dreaming with StarClan. A pang of envy resonated in Moonpaw's chest as she retreated to her den – if only she could become a warrior now!

But the silver she-cat was tired – too tired to be too resentful of Firestripes and her new position within the Clan. She fell sleep to the sound of Foxpaw and Lunarpaw arguing about who would be the better choice for deputy if Stripedleg ever joined StarClan. It was a thought that Moonpaw didn't frequently consider, and she tuned them out, focusing instead on a glorified image of the small black LightClan tom.

**0o0oo00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yay, I liked last chappie. Moonpaw is a coolish charrie…kay, so anwayz…here's Nightpaw. I think.**

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

No wind stirred the leaves that littered the center of the LightClan camp. Nightpaw was perched on a sagging windowsill of the barn, his clear blue eyes focused on the scattered red and gold leaves. They lay curiously still, not even a whisper of wind present to catch them up and toss them around. Nightpaw was waiting for them to dance.

When it was clear that there was not even a slight breeze willing to comply, Nightpaw sighed and slithered down from the windowsill, descending into the barn floor, his pelt swallowed up by the shadows that filled the room like a sticky flood. Fighting a wave of nausea, Nightpaw hurried through the dark, his whiskers trembling. His paws stumbled over a piece of wood or stone – he bit back a cry of fear and with a heave of effort, launched himself out the door. Light crashed over him in a refreshing wave – he gulped in the pure air and allowed himself a few moments to come down before padding on.

At times, he envied the DarkClan warriors for their comfort in the black places of the world. They had eyes like lamps and whiskers sensitive enough to feel the walls of a pitch-dark cavern ten foxlengths away. They were built for darkness and tunnels and shadows. LightClan was a clan of the air. With wide paws and sleek pelts, LightClan cats could run for moons and never get tired, and they could swim. He supposed it was a fair enough trade, but there were those days when he wished he could just curl up in a dark corner and think without vomiting up his breakfast.

"Where are you going, Nightpaw?" mewed Flamepaw. She was curled on the flat top of a stump, watching him with glittering amber eyes as he strode purposefully past her.

"The Moorhollow," he replied shortly, not even glancing in her direction. A moment later he felt Flamepaw's pelt brush his, and he turned to see her trotting beside him.

"Why?" she questioned quietly, easily matching his pace.

Annoyed, Nightpaw sped up a little bit, trying to outrun his den mate. She sped up as well, her tail flicking back and forth in amusement.

"To think," Nightpaw replied acidly, narrowing his eyes and looking away. A smile flitted across Flamepaw's pretty features.

"I see. May I come?"

With a resigned sigh, Nightpaw gave a shrug and meowed tiredly, "I suppose."They continued at a casual trot, sliding beneath the fence at the edge of the LightClan camp and ascending onto the moor. Here, there was a gentle breeze, very slowly sweeping the undulating hills that spread out in front of the two apprentices.

"I like it when there's not a very strong wind," Flamepaw mused, leaping into the air and doing a twirl before landing delicately on her feet a few tail lengths ahead. Nightpaw caught up with her and nodded.

"I agree, though it's not so bad when there is wind."

Flamepaw laughed. "You're very contradictory today, Nightpaw," she accused, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

The black tom glanced at her. "How so?"

"Well, first you hardly acknowledged me, then you allowed me to come and 'think' with you, which I assume is quite an honor-" she paused and raised her eyebrow at him. Nightpaw looked away, miffed. "And then you said you liked _no_ wind, but it was fine when there _was_ wind as well. There. Contradictory." She finished with a flourish of her whiskers, giving him as much of a bow as was possible while walking.

Nightpaw growled and cuffed the dark ginger she-cat lightly over the ear. She laughed and sprang ahead, her paws flying over the springy turf of the LightClan moor.

They reached the Moorhollow a few minutes later. It was a wide depression in the ground circled with brambles and nettles **(A/N: the WindClan camp…)**. Apprentices trained there, but there was a special corner where Nightpaw liked to go to think and practice by himself, out of sight from his Clanmates.

Nightpaw squeezed through the bramble tunnel and entered the hollow, feeling Flamepaw close on his heels.

Dawnpaw and Oceanpaw were there, battling each other while their mentors, Jawing and Fawnheart, looked on eagerly.

"Hit him over the head, Dawnpaw! _Over the head_! Ooohhh, you should've hit 'im when he was behind you! I taught you that!" Jaywing yowled, his tail lashing. Dawnpaw cast him a sheepish glance.

"Sorry, Jaywing," meowed the dark, blue-gray she-cat. Her green eyes were wide with shame.

Her mentor sighed and licked her quickly between the ears. "No problem, just remember that next time, okay?" He suddenly noticed Nightpaw and Flamepaw standing awkwardly at the entrance.

"Nightpaw! Flamepaw!" Jaywing called, leaving Dawnpaw and bounding over. Fawnheart and the two apprentices followed.

"I didn't know you two were coming to join us-" he seemed to realize that their mentors weren't just behind them, and he looked puzzled. "What are you doing here?" he asked, no menace in his voice.

Nightpaw's eyes narrowed. "We came to train alone." He looked at Dawnpaw. "Nice move with the roll there," he meowed kindly.

Dawnpaw cringed. "You…you saw that?" she mewed quietly, looking down at her paws. Jaywing was beaming.

"We were just leaving," Fawnheart meowed nodding to Nightpaw. "I want to check up on Oceanpaw's rabbit hunting skills."

The four LightClan cats slipped out of the tunnel, leaving Nightpaw and Flamepaw alone in the Moorhollow.

"Well, time to think, right?" Flamepaw meowed sarcastically, raising her eyebrow. She padded to the center of the Moorhollow and called out, "How _does_ a bird fly so fast?" She mocked a curious expression, her tail tapping gently against her chin.

Nightpaw snarled, "You look like Icecliff when she's trying to remember if she scratched her flank a few seconds ago or not."

Flamepaw glared at him. "That's rude."

Nightpaw shrugged the comment off and padded to the other side of the hollow, sniffing the brambles cautiously. There was no scent of danger, so he located the gap in the thicket and slipped through. Here was a shaded, plant-drooped refuge completely enclosed by bramble and dried bracken, with a ceiling of hanging ivy and cinnamon vine.Nightpaw settled in the center of the sheltered clearing and rested his head on his paws, his eyes closed. He felt Flamepaw flop down beside him with a loud huff. They sat there for a long moment – no thoughts ran through Nightpaw's mind like fleeing prey, and he enjoyed the moment of silence. Then – "There's cats coming," Flamepaw announced in a hoarse tone.

Sighing, Nightpaw lifted his head and opened his eyes, blinking as colors wavered and light flashed while his eyes adjusted. Flamepaw was already on her feet beside him, scenting the air.

"It's a patrol! Let's go meet them," she mewled, obviously bored with the lack activity. Nightpaw, resigned, followed her, squeezing through the brambles behind her.

A patrol consisting of Dawnsdust, Jaywing, Stoneclaw and Lightpaw was traipsing past the Moorhollow – they all whirled around as Flamepaw and Nightpaw emerged from the tunnel.

"I thought I smelled cats," grumbled Lightpaw, blinking at them sleepily.

Nightpaw dipped his head to Stoneclaw. "We were practicing together," he explained. "Flamepaw wanted to join the patrol."

Stoneclaw nodded in return. "Of course. Good of you to take the initiative and get in some extra practice. I appreciate that, and so will Turtlestar."

Flamepaw shot Nightpaw a skeptical glance – shook his head, warning her not to say what they had really been doing: wasting time. He fell into step beside Dawnsdust and kept his eyes down, watching the brown grass as it sped away beneath his dark paws.

"Look!" cried Dawnsdust, pointing at some far away speck with her tail. "A DarkClan patrol!"

Stoneclaw surged forward, leaping down the sloping hill with ease, his dark fur standing out against the pale ground. "Tigerstar!" he called. Nightpaw recognized the DarkClan a moment later, though the three other cats clustered around him were unfamiliar.

"Stoneclaw," the black-striped tom acknowledged. Stoneclaw halted the patrol on the LightClan side of the border, facing the DarkClan cats.

"How are things in DarkClan?" Stoneclaw meowed, eyeing the patrol. Nightpaw didn't miss the low growl that rumbled from a large, blue-gray tabby tom's chest. He narrowed his eyes in reply, mentally daring the warrior to use his voice.

"Very well, and you?" Tigerstar replied politely.

"Excellent. Prey is running well, no?" Stoneclaw laughed, his eyes bright. Tigerstar smiled.

"Well, we must be getting back to camp, but it was good to see you," the leader meowed gruffly.

It was then that Nightpaw noticed the silver she-cat staring at him. He lifted his gaze, and locked it with hers for a moment, before she looked away, her whiskers trembling. Nightpaw had to remember to breathe. He had to restrain himself from stepping forward and asking her name. The black tom swallowed hard, forcing himself to look away.

"Let's go, Nightpaw!" hissed Flamepaw. He looked up find his own Clanmates a few foxlengths away, heading back up the hill. Nightpaw jumped, blinking, and followed. _How could any one cat be so beautiful?_ He thought to himself as he ran. The feeling of her pale, sapphire eyes meeting his was impossible to forget.

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	5. Chapter 5

**Yay, last chappie was awesomish. Here's Moonypaw again. Hoorayz. Sorry I didn't update sooner, I was on vacation.**

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Moonpaw couldn't help herself – something on the other side of the border was drawing her closer. As night closed in on the DarkClan forest and the moon began its weary ascent of the black sky, Moonpaw lay restless in her nest in the apprentices' den, her eyes wide and her heart pitter-pattering excitedly in her chest.

There was no earthly reason why she shouldn't be sound asleep. She had had a long day, with patrol and hunting, and the warrior ceremony – and her encounter with the LightClan cats. She felt a shadow of sleepiness creeping around in the back of her mind, but no matter how hard she tugged, it wouldn't come forward. It was like a thorn wedged stubbornly behind her ear that was impossible to pull out.

Resigned, the silver tabby rose from her nest, raked stray bits of moss from her pelt, and slipped out of the den. By now, the moon was high enough to cast light on the camp and the surrounding trees. Ravenflight was sitting watch by the entrance, while Silverswift guarded the Widetunnel – Firestripes was sitting vigil inside the Great Cave.

"Moonpaw," growled Ravenflight, turning as Moonpaw tiptoed toward the entrance. The black she-cat's eyes followed her as she approached the tunnel. "Where are you going so late?"

"I thought-" said Moonpaw. She swallowed, attempting to wet her dry throat. "I thought I might – just – go for a – a walk. In the forest," she coughed out weakly. She waited for Ravenflight so spot her lie, but the black warrior just shrugged.

"I was just going to say – if you see…or if you just get a scent…tell if me Twilightkit is out there," Ravenflight murmured, her eyes misty.

Moonpaw nodded shakily. Twilightkit was Ravenflight and Nightsky's son who had been stolen by foxes when he was still in the nursery. They had been searching for him ever since, and Ravenflight was relentless about asking for any news of his whereabouts, which of course, there was none. Moonpaw hated to think it, but she doubted the tom-kit was still alive.

Gratefully, Moonpaw slipped past her, the fur on the back of her neck bristling. A gentle wave of fresh air rolled over as she burst out of the tunnel, sucking in a great breath. A wild sense of freedom overtook her senses, and she leaped into the air, batting playfully at an overhanging leaf.

As she shook away the childish feelings of joy, a sudden thought struck Moonpaw like a pebble striking her forehead. _Maybe_, she thought to herself, pausing as she circled a clump of bracken, _maybe that LightClan apprentice will be out as well._ She told herself it was impossible, but her paws carried her on through the forest, towards the moor, and the LightClan border. She wouldn't go so far as to cross it in search of him, but maybe by some happy mistake, he would have been sent out collecting moss in the narrow strip of forest that did not belong to DarkClan, and they would meet there, in the moonlight…

Moonpaw shook off the thoughts and focused on a mouse that was scurrying through the leaves next to her. She dropped into a somewhat lopsided hunter's crouch – she hadn't had a chance to perfect it yet during her training with Tigerstar – and attempted to sneak up on the tiny creature. It noticed her a second before she pounced and streaked away, but Moonpaw was fast, and she leaped after it, catching it's tail between her paws just before it dived beneath the leaves.

She bit the mouse's neck quickly and buried in the mud, promising to come and retrieve it on her way back to camp. Though she was hungry and the scent was appetizing, Moonpaw didn't dare eat the prey now – she wouldn't go breaking the warrior code in her first few moons.

"Nice catch," came a silky murmur.

Moonpaw jumped, blinking, and peered into the shadows around her, lifting her nose to the air. Sure enough, she stood not a tail length away from the LightClan border. And there, sitting with his dark tail wrapped around his paws, blue eyes twinkling mischievously, was the LightClan apprentice.

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**Oooohhh, mysterious…hehehe, Nightpaw is awesomeish, as if Moonpaw, and Twilightpaw as well…next chappie is most likely Nightpaw, and after that, we get a first look at Twilightpaw's character. Yayz! Review!!! Review, review, review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's Nightpaw. A few minutes before he meets Moonpaw at the border: he had the same feeling as her, that something was pulling him, and he came to the same spot for some unknown reason…whoa…mysterious…**

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Nightpaw trotted across the rolling moor, wind ruffling his pitch-black fur. The damp grass was springy and soft beneath his paws. Moonlight cast a striking light on the grass, tingeing it silver so that it seemed as if Nightpaw was dancing across an ocean of quicksilver. He picked up his pace, his blue eyes bright with mischief.

It hadn't been easy to slip out of camp – Sablemask had been on guard on the windowsill of the barn, his large yellow eyes on the look out for apprentices doing exactly what Nightpaw was. The black tom rarely missed anything while on patrol or hunting, and though Nightpaw's dark pelt blended easily with the night, his shining eyes were most often a dead give away even to the most sight-challenged warrior.

But he had managed it, barely, and now here he was, speeding across the moor with the wind in his fur, headed for the DarkClan border and the she-cat whom he somehow knew would be there.

Nightpaw entered the narrow strip of forest that belonged to LightClan and slithered through the bracken until he reached the border, eagerly tasting the air for the same scent that he had recognized the day before. Sure enough, it was there, wafting towards him from quite a few fox-lengths away from the border. A smile lit up his face – just as he had felt in is bones, she was there.

He saw her before she saw him. She was stalking a mouse - not very well – and her attention was focused entirely on her prey as she emerged from the undergrowth near him. He stifled a laugh as the mouse made his escape, but it caught in his throat when she sprinted after the small creature like lightning, and caught it between her paws. His eyes were wide with astonishment, as he had never seen a cat move so fast.

"Nice catch," he murmured without thinking. The silver she-cat jumped and whirled to face him, her whiskers trembling. It took her a moment to gather her thoughts, and then a smile lit up her face like the sun.

"I _knew_ you'd be here!" she cried, rising to her full height and taking a few cautious steps toward him. Nightpaw dared not cross the border just yet, but he drew as close to it as he could, so that his paws might have been touching the line had there been one.

"I saw you on patrol the other day and I…" Nightpaw began. He blinked, unable to find the right words. Was that really it? No, he'd needed to see her. It felt right, standing close to her in the shadowed forest, with the wind whispering in the trees all around them.

"I couldn't forget you," the she-cat meowed, half to herself. Nightpaw nodded absent-mindedly: she had finished his sentence.

But suddenly she laughed, throwing back her head. Nightpaw flinched startled, and blinked at her.

"I'm sorry," she mewed, shaking her head. Her blue eyes were twinkling. "It's just, I don't even know you're name. How can this not be a bit…I don't know…weird?" Her tail was twitching as she glanced back and forth between the treetops and Nightpaw's face.

"Well, yeah, but…" he stammered, averting his eyes.

"Okay…" The silver DarkClan cat raised an eyebrow. "My name is Moonpaw. Pleased to met you."

Nightpaw flicked his tail. _Moonpaw…it certainly fit her beauty._ "I'm Nightpaw."

Moonpaw blinked acknowledgement, but said nothing. An awkward second later she meowed, "Well, are you pleased to meet me?"

Nightpaw looked away and flicked his tail. "I met you already, a few days ago. Besides, we're in different Clans, we shouldn't be pleased to meet each other."

Moonpaw snorted. "We'd be pleased to meet each other at a Gathering wouldn't we?"

"This isn't a Gathering, is it?" mewed Nightpaw shortly, an arrogant edge to his voice. Moonpaw sighed and shook her head, obviously not hurt by his unfriendly words. Annoyed, Nightpaw growled, "In fact, we shouldn't be meeting at all! It's not right, it's against the warrior code - I should leave."

He got to his paws and turned, but suddenly felt her tail against his flank. His skin prickled, and he stopped short, his breath caught.

"I know you don't mean it," she mewed softly, her voice like velvet. Nightpaw's whiskers trembled. He turned back to her, a sheepish expression on his face.

"I, uh…" His voice trailed away. She was staring at him with a questioning look, her tail held high over her head. "Look," he began again, scraping nervously at the ground with long claws, "I don't want my leader to find out we…we met here. I'd love to see you again, I really…really would-" At this he looked straight into her eyes, his heart hammering. They remained that way for a second, until Moonpaw nodded in understanding.

"We need to focus on our training," she meowed softly, though there was pain in her eyes as she said it. Nightpaw nodded desperately. "But the Gathering is in two nights. We'll see each other there, right?"

"Of course!" Nightpaw meowed. Moonpaw took a reluctant step back, hesitating.

"See you then, Nightpaw," she whispered. She blinked, and quickly rushed forward, pressed her nose against his cheek, and then disappeared without another word, the bracken swishing in her wake. Nightpaw stood there for a moment, stunned, her scent lingering in the air around him, and then he too whirled about and fled back up the hill.

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**So cute! Don't worry, it isn't this cheesy the whole time. This is just like their first meeting, so it had to be a bit…well…cheesy. But next chappie is Twilightpaw. That'll also be just sort of introducing him, so not much will really happen, but it'll still be coolish.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry this took me so long to update, my teachers seem to be enjoying some kind of sick joke by giving us about seven tests all in the same two days, so I've been just a teensy bit busy lately. Oh well, just a few more months until summer…hehe….just a few more months…wide, bloodshot eyes and drool hanging out of the corner of mouth…I'll survive…**

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"_Tansy! I said __**tansy**__, Twilightpaw! _Can't you focus? What's gotten into you?" came Littleleaf's outraged cry. Twilightpaw flinched, clutching at the dusty ground with silver-spotted paws.

"I'm sorry," he mewed in a quiet voice, blind eyes staring at the ground. He could feel Littleleaf's anger and frustration rolling off the medicine cat in sickening waves, and he crouched even lower to the ground, if that was possible.

"If only your mother would knock some sense into you-" Littleleaf began exasperatedly, but he trailed off as he realized what he had said.

"If my mother cared about me, she'd find me," Twilightpaw snapped back in one of his rare bursts of anger.

"I'm sorry, Twilightpaw, I-" Littleleaf backtracked desperately. It was common knowledge in LightClan that Twilightpaw had not been born in the Clan. He had been discovered by a warrior on the outskirts LightClan territory, seemingly abandoned, with the stink of fox hiding any other scent he might have had. The only thing that the tired, few-month-old tom-kit could remember was his name, and that a fox had stolen him from his home.

"Just leave me alone, for once," Twilightpaw sighed, getting wearily to his paws. It had always been his dream to become a warrior, but due to his blindness, it was impossible – so he was frequently told. He had taken the path of a medicine cat with a determined stoicism, preparing himself for a lonely, boring life of herbs and isolation. His strong connection of StarClan made this less so, but that didn't keep the bitterness from leaking through his carefully built-up wall.

Dragging his paws, Twilightpaw made his way through the camp, his keen whiskers telling him where a pebble lay in his way, and his sense of smell telling him where a cat was sleeping in the shade. All in all, life wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't particularly enjoyable either.

"It's a shame really," he heard a quiet murmur on his left. He recognized the voice as that of Sablemask, a warrior who was usually relatively civil to Twilightpaw, something the multicolored tom appreciated greatly. He was talking in a low murmur to Stoneclaw, the deputy. "I mean, it has to be difficult. Two blind medicine cats in one den – I sometimes wonder how they manage, neither one being able to see a thing."

Twilightpaw's ruff bristled, and a chill swept down his spine at the words. _ Littleleaf and I manage just fine!_ He mentally shouted at Sablemask. _You try being a medicine cat day, and see if you can manage _with_ sight! _ If he had had the guts to glare, it would have lived up to the standards of the legendary Jayfeather. His glares had gone down in history, and he was a blind medicine cat, just like Twilightpaw.

It was highly unusual of course – two of the cats in LightClan were blind at one time. Twilightpaw often told himself that StarClan obviously had faith in the two of them – Littleleaf was as used to being blind as any other cat was used to having sight, and as far as Twilightpaw knew, it wasn't too much of a hindrance. He also knew for a fact that both of them would have given their tails to change it, but that wasn't StarClan's path for them, and this Twilightpaw knew better than anything else.

He padded to the edge of the camp – unlike most LightClan cats, the darkness of the barn didn't bother him – it was no darker than what he was used to. He had talked with many of his fellow LightClan cats, and all of them shuddered when he mentioned how he often went into the depths of the barn to think and be alone. This was where he escaped to now, slinking into the shadows, his sightless eyes glinting.

To his surprise, another cat was inside the barn – he scented Nightpaw, a rather arrogant, unfriendly tom who rarely spoke a word to Twilightpaw unless forced. Curious, Twilightpaw slithered up to the barn wall, ascertaining that his fellow apprentice was perched on the windowsill a few feet above where Twilightpaw was crouched, hidden, in the darkness. Nightpaw remained there for some time, and Twilightpaw even felt himself drifting into a half sleep, and then suddenly he heard a breath of air, a thud, and he smelled Nightpaw trotting away.

Twilightpaw hurried to is feet and rushed after the apprentice, mischief sparking in his heart. His day had been so boring, just sorting herbs and learning remedies for simple illnesses like colds, it felt unbelievably refreshing to be doing something exciting and adventurous.

It was late at night, perhaps even nearing midnight. Twilightpaw could tell because there was as cool breeze on his fur, and the earth was no longer slightly warm on his paw pads as he trotted after Nightpaw. LightClan was an excellent place for a blind cat because of its open territory – Twilightpaw only had to worry about tripping on stones or the roots of scraggly bushes, and he had long been a master of stepping carefully. Nightpaw set a mean pace, and Twilightpaw was a bit pressed to keep up, but he was determined to discover where Nightpaw was sneaking off to so late.

No unusual scents reached Twilightpaw's nose until he reached the DarkClan border, a few fox-lengths lake-ward from where Nightpaw had stopped. Curiosity burned fiercely now on Twilightpaw's pelt, and he hid beneath a fern, his pale unseeing eyes fixed on Nightpaw's position, pinpointed by Twilightpaw's acute sense of smell and enhanced hearing.

Nightpaw caught a mouse a few seconds later – Twilightpaw heard a plaintive squeal, a crunch, and a rustle of leaves as Nightpaw gathered his prey.

"Nice catch," came a laughing meow. Twilightpaw stiffened, appalled at himself – he hadn't heard or smelled this newcomer, whoever it was.

The rest of the conversation was lost on the spying medicine cat apprentice; he slunk just close enough to detect the scent of a DarkClan she-cat, the words, "I couldn't forget you…", "Moonpaw…", "…against the warrior code…" and "I'd love to see you again." By that time, he had heard enough, and turned tail to stagger back across the moor, this new dark secret whizzing in uncontrollable circles around his head.

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**Dun…dun…dun…tsk, tsk Twilightpaw, don't jump to conclusions…**


	8. Chapter 8

**Right, here's Moonpaw. I'm not giving anything away, but basically, all the main characters are connected in some way, and when a terrible event shakes up their troubled, delicate lives…how will they react? Yeah, how's that for a summary. Ha. Anyway…it's been a day and a half since last chappie.**

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There was no way Moonpaw was missing this Gathering. As dusk approached faster and faster, her heart began to beat more and more wildly. She paced around the camp, tail twitching anxiously, waiting for Tigerstar's great striped head to appear at the mouth of his den. Stripedleg, the deputy, had been in and out of the leader's den all afternoon, and Moonpaw longed to sneak closer and listen in. But she didn't dare put a toe out of line in case Tigerstar might decide not to take her.

Brightpaw, Moonpaw's best friend, was napping in the shade of a holly bush on the far side of the camp, watching Moonpaw through narrowed eyes with a quizzical expression on her face.

"Why do you want to go to the Gathering so badly?" meowed Brightpaw after a long moment. Moonpaw paused in her pacing, her bright blue eyes flickering between Tigerstar's den and Brightpaw's face.

"It'd be my first. Besides, who wouldn't, right?" she replied, a bit too sharply. Of course, the only thought running through her mind was of Nightpaw, and their midnight meeting two days before. But she wasn't about to tell Brightpaw about that.

"Well, sure, anybody'd love to go to a Gathering, but Great StarClan Moonpaw, there'll be plenty more!" Brightpaw mewed, rolling her eyes. Moonpaw opened her mouth to reply, thought better of it, and then resumed her pacing, her silver tail lashing back and forth, back and forth.

Finally, as the sun was just disappearing below the horizon, and Moonpaw was bored she had even given up standing, Tigerstar suddenly appeared on top of the Highstone. It was so sudden that it took Moonpaw a few more seconds to register the fact that she was now gazing up at a sold being, rather than a figment of her imagination. When she had processed this, she immediately leapt to her feet and half scurried half slithered to the scuffed-up area at the base of the Highstone.

Tigerstar glanced down at her, a disbelieving smile on his face, and blinked – Moonpaw turned away, her face flushing. Obviously, Tigerstar had been aware of her presence outside his den for the last hour or two. Embarrassment flooded Moonpaw's veins, and she scuffled her paws in the dirt, avoiding her mentor's gaze at all costs.

"At long last," called out Tigerstar, once all the cats of DarkClan were assembled beneath him. He caught Moonpaw's gaze, a twinkle in his eye. "I must announce who I will bring with me to tonight's Gathering."

An excited murmur swept the crowd, and blood began to throb in Moonpaw's ears. _Like Brightpaw said, there's always more Gatherings, plenty more nights…_ Moonpaw scolded herself, but she could not quell her growing apprehension.

" Stripedleg," called Tigerstar. The huge white tom stepped up beside him. "Of course you will come." The deputy nodded, his cold amber eyes surveying the Clan before him.

" Coldheart, Silverswift, Brownback, Nightsky, Snowheart, Firestripes, Lunarpaw, Brightpaw…" he trailed off. For a moment, the world around Moonpaw was suspended, and she was staring up at Tigerstar in disbelief, everything else around her frozen in place, with only the sound of her own beating heart pulsing in her ears. _How could he? How could my own mentor, my leader, do this to me?_

"…and Moonpaw." And then the world came crashing over Moonpaw once again in a great wave, and suddenly the crowd had dispersed and she was standing alone before the Highstone, fairly trembling with relief.

"Get going, eat something. We leave in a few minutes," commanded Brownback. Moonpaw jumped, turning to face him, and then realized that he was speaking to Brightpaw, his apprentice. The large black and brown tom glanced at Moonpaw, blinked, and then padded away. Brightpaw flicked Moonpaw's ear with her tail, turning her head in the direction of the fresh-kill pile.

"Eat up, mouse-brain," Brightpaw growled good-naturedly. The light golden she-cat was much older than Moonpaw, and only two moons away from her warrior ceremony, but she still acted as mischievous as a kit most of the time. That was why Moonpaw liked her.

They quietly devoured a mouse each, and then hurried to join the group of cats that was congregating by the entrance tunnel. Lunarpaw's golden eyes were bright and sparkling with excitement.

"Isn't this great?" he exclaimed as soon as Moonpaw and Brightpaw were standing close enough to hear him. He gave Moonpaw an uncharacteristic grin. "Our first Gathering! Aren't you excited?"

Moonpaw hesitated, and then meowed haltingly, "Well, yeah, I mean, of course I am-" Her face flushed, and she looked away. It seemed as though at any moment someone would guess why she was so eager to go to the Gathering.

Lunarpaw seemed not to notice. He turned to Brightpaw. "You've been to them before – how is it? Are LightClan cats really afraid of the dark?" He looked skeptical as he spoke the words – the thought that any cat would actually be _afraid_ of the _dark_ was quite ridiculous, of course, but what if the rumors were true?

"Great StarClan, Lunarpaw, how do you expect me to know all that? I'd never ask a LightClan warrior such a stupid question. Besides, we're not supposed to share information about ourselves with the other Clan – especially not a weakness like that. Think of what a ferocious LightClan warrior would say if I told him that Lunarpaw is afraid of toads."

Lunarpaw blinked at her, bristling. "I – I am not!" he sputtered, taking a few steps back. Brightpaw turned up her nose, a triumphant smirk on her face.

"Cats of DarkClan! Come!" Tigerstar yowled. Moonpaw turned eagerly, facing him as Tigerstar waved his tail and gathered the little group of cats around him. He then turned, glanced once over his shoulder, and then slipped through the entrance tunnel, leading his cats out of camp, back through the forest, and along the pebbly beach. They reached the edge of LightClan territory as the ground grew swampy, the pine forests disappeared, and reed grass began to spring up around them. The Halfbridge extended out onto the like a giant claw-less paw.

Excitement hung in the air like a thick fog – it clung to every hair on Moonpaw's pelt as the treebridge came into view, spanning the frothing channel that separated LightClan territory from the Island where every Gathering was held.

"Look at the moon reflected in the water," murmured Lunarpaw, pointing at the shivering likeness of the pale, full moon that was shining on the black lake surface. Moonpaw's whiskers were trembling – there was not a cloud in the sky, and the entire scene was breathtakingly beautiful.

"That's pretty," Brightpaw replied. Her voice had a forced air of casualty, but Moonpaw could tell that the golden she-cat really was in complete awe of the sight.

They had arrived at the treebridge. Tigerstar flicked his tail, a signal for them to wait, and raised his nose to the air.

"LightClan has not yet arrived," he murmured to Stripedleg, but Moonpaw overheard. A pang of worry struck her heart, but she suppressed it hurriedly – LightClan would be there soon. Tigerstar stood to the side and allowed Stripedleg to cross the bridge – the white tome scampered across it easily, with practiced movements. Coldheart, Silverswift and Brownback quickly followed, and Brownback led Brightpaw gently across, though she had no trouble, having done it a couple times before. Nightsky wnt across slowly – he seemed especially wary of the black water below, and then Snowheart bounded across, clearly showing off. Firestripes was next, a nervous smile on her face, helping Lunarpaw behind her, and than it was Moonpaw's turn. She stepped onto the tree and was surprised and horrified to find how slippery it was. Swallowing the panic that was swelling in her chest, she inched out across the fallen tree, her claws out to their fullest extent, gripping the tree as if her life depended on it – which it might have.

"You're fine, Moonpaw. Go as slow as you need to," came Tigerstar's gentle mew from behind her. Moonpaw managed to nod as she took a few more cautious steps. Suddenly, Lunarpaw, in front of her, let out a strangled squeal, and she saw his paws scrabbling at the wood as he slipped sideways. Without thinking, the silver-white apprentice lunged forward, grasped Lunarpaw's scruff in her teeth, and hauled backwards. For a fleeting second it seemed as if both of them would plummet to their deaths, and then Tigerstar gave Moonpaw's flank a hard nudge, and she was suddenly toppling back. Lunarpaw was pulled back onto the safety of the tree, and Moonpaw lay sprawled across it, panting. For a moment, no cat said a word.

The, Lunarpaw said in a shaky voice, "Nice catch."

Blood rushed to Moonpaw's face - those were the words that she had said to Nightpaw when she had watched him hunt the mouse on the border.

"I, uh, yeah, it was nothing," she replied, averting her eyes. Everyone was too caught up in the shock of the event to notice her flustered expression.

They hurried to the other end of the treebridge, twice as careful after that, and when Moonpaw had finally put her paws on solid ground, a rush of relief swept up her spine, and she couldn't help but release a stifled purr. Tigerstar resumed his place at the head of the group, and led them through the forest once more. They reached the clearing where the Gathering was haled just as the moon was mid-way to its highest point. Stars glittered in Silverpelt above them.

Since LightClan hadn't arrived yet, there wasn't much for the DarkClan cats to do, so Brightpaw gave Moonpaw and Lunarpaw a tour of the clearing. Tigerstar and Stripedleg had already taken up their positions in the Great Tree, and some of the more senior warriors were gathered around its base, conversing in low whispers. Brightpaw pointed out a log where the elders sat and told stories of past battles, and some bushes where the LightClan apprentices usually congregated.

Finally, Tigerstar gave a yowl for silence and lifted his nose to the air again – Moonpaw copied him, and a few moments after Tigerstar announced, "LightClan are coming," Moonpaw caught their scent on the wind. Proud of herself for noticing it sooner than Lunarpaw, Moonpaw stepped to the front of the DarkClan crowd, eagerly scanning the shadowed undergrowth, awaiting the first appearance of LightClan.

There was a rustle a moment or so later, and a small, light brown tabby tom emerged from the ferns, surveying the hollow with a calculating, marshy green gaze.

"Is that the LightClan leader?" spat Lunarpaw skeptically. "He's the size of a rabbit!"

"Turtlestar!" Tigerstar greeted in answer. The huge striped tom dropped from the tree and loped over to the second cat, touching noses with him quickly before returning to his purchase. Stripedleg remained in the tree, staring down his nose at the brown tabby through narrowed amber eyes.

"I'm sorry we're late, Tigerstar. A kit was ill, and we had to find the necessary herbs before we could leave." Turtlestar apologized, shooting a scathing glance at a black and silver spotted tom that cowered among the larger warriors. The cat looked away, and Moonpaw noticed with a jolt that his eyes were gray and sightless.

"Of course. I hope the kit recovers," murmured Tigerstar politely. Turtlestar did not reply.

"Let us allow our cats a few moments to greet each other before the Gathering begins," Tigerstar suggested as Turtlestar leaped onto the tree beside him. The LightClan leader agreed, and turned to beckon to his Clan – Moonpaw hadn't noticed them all come out of the plants, but now the cats were streaming into the clearing.

Moonpaw was surprised to find that most of the LightClan cats were smaller than her own Clanmates – they looked almost scrawny, and Moonpaw would have thought they were underfed if they had been DarkClan cats, but no one seemed surprised by the cats' appearances. Their pelts were thin and messy, as if constantly attacked by huge windstorms. DarkClan cats' pelts were thick and glossy, with plenty of warm under fur.

Immediately, after giving the cats a general inspection, Moonpaw set out to find the black tom that she had met at the border those two days ago. At first she didn't see him, and her heart sank lower than a stone at the bottom of the lake, but then his familiar scent wafted lightly past her nose, and she whirled to find him standing two tail lengths from her, watching her with his serene blue eyes.

"Nightpaw!" she cried, hurrying over. Nightpaw glared at her, his tail flickering, and stopped in mid-step, surprise and horror crashing over her. But then he spoke, in a hushed tone.

"We're not supposed to know each other!" he hissed urgently, glancing over Moonpaw's shoulder. Realization dawned on her after a tense moment, and she backtracked hurriedly, a smile creeping across her features.

"Hello, stranger," she meowed again, in a quieter, more subdued voice. She once again walked towards Nightpaw, and this time he wore a much pleasanter expression.

"Hello! What's your name?" Nightpaw asked, obviously enjoying the joke as much as she was.

"Well, my name happens to be Moonpaw. Of course you never knew that!"

Nightpaw rolled his eyes, but a grin was forming on his face nonetheless. "And I'm Nightpaw. Right, now we're introduced…" He got to his feet and strode over to her, very subtlety swiping his tail across her ear as he sat down before her. Moonpaw shivered, her pelt prickling.

Nightpaw looked alarmed, and averted his eyes, scuffling at the ground in embarrassment. "I'm sorry – sorry, that was too much - Great StarClan, I was practicing that-"

Moonpaw couldn't help letting out a loud guffaw of laughter. "You were _practicing?_" she meowed incredulously. Nightpaw did not meet her gaze, but turned hi head away, his whiskers quivering. He said nothing. Moonpaw backtracked quickly.

"No, it was fine, Nightpaw, it was sweet, don't worry. It was sweet."

His eyes flickered back to her, and he hesitated, but then relented, relaxing and smiling nervously. "Sorry."

"The Gathering must begin now," came Turtlestar's voice. Nightpaw whirled immediately to face his leader, and Moonpaw followed suit a second later.

The Gathering proceeded quickly – there wasn't much to talk about since prey was running and there was nothing to argue about at the moment. Brightpaw appeared at Moonpaw's side halfway through, casting a suspicious glance at Nightpaw. Moonpaw realized a bit too late that her pelt was slightly brushing his, and she flinched away, embarrassed. Nightpaw seemed appalled at himself as he too realized, and they scooted away from each other. Brightpaw watched all of this curiously.

"D'you know him?" she murmured in Moonpaw's ear as the leaders wrapped up there speeches.

Moonpaw didn't look her friend in the eye as she replied, "We saw each other on patrol a couple times before this, and we talked tonight. So yeah, I guess we know each other pretty well."

"Hmpf. Well, don't get too cozy – tomorrow you might have to rip each other's fur off. Be careful, Moonpaw, is all I'm saying," Brightpaw meowed solemnly as Moonpaw's eyes widened.

The hollow seemed to suddenly grow colder as Moonpaw and Nightpaw stole a horrified glance at each other. _I could never hurt him in battle!_ Moonpaw realized with a sickening feeling as her Clan got up to leave. _Am I really that disloyal?_

"Moonpaw, wait!" called Nightpaw. She hadn't realized that she was about to cross the treebridge without even saying goodbye. She turned back, glad that no one from her Clan noticed the black tom hurrying up to her.

"In three nights, meet me where we saw each other last time!"

"But Nightpaw, that's –" Moonpaw began, fear fluttering like a trapped butterfly in her rib cage. But he was already slipping away to join his own Clanmates, and there was nothing Moonpaw could do.

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	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, finally some actual stuff will start happening, I hope. Here's Nightpaw. I AM SO SORRY THAT I TOOK SO LONG UPDATING!! I had the most incredible writers block in the world, and hard time squeezing out even one sentence, but I'll try to post the next three chapters this weekend…don't hold me to it, but I'll try. Also, I desperately need ideas – for those whose character is one of the main ones, please tell me anything you'd like to have happen to your character, no matter how crazy it seems!! Anyone else with ideas is welcome to tell me them, I'll give you credit and everything if you want. Thanks!**

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Of course it was foolish. Unwise, incredibly risky, mouse-brained, irrational. It was all of those things, but it was also _right_. Somehow, despite the stupidity of it, Nightpaw knew that it was right, and he wouldn't be doing anything else if he had the chance. So he streaked out of camp at midnight, his belly low to the ground, his black pelt hiding him as he raced across the moor, the wind in his fur. Surely it must be right, if it felt this good?

Crickets chirped raucously in the bushes as he waited by the DarkClan border, anxiously peering into the bracken. _She's coming_, he told himself. Though it was cold, and the sensible part of him longed to be back in his nest, warm and snug among the moss, the wild part of him was leaping for joy. And when he caught her scent on the wind, the sensible part of him went meekly away, and the wild part took control.

"Moonpaw!" he cried out joyfully, catching sight of her bright silver pelt winding through the grass. "I knew you would be coming!" He bounded forward, forgetting for a moment about borders and Clan rivalries, about prey-less leafbare, sickness and suffering. He forgot about being alone, about guilt and shame, about anger and grief. It was all swept away in one soft gust of wind as he and Moonpaw brush against each other and her purr rumbled in his ears.

"Did you think I might not come?" she meowed quietly, as he licked her gently between the ears.

"Of course not, but there's always the chance that someone saw you and made you stay in camp." He paused. "Did anyone see you?"

Moonpaw blinked, and then replied, "I don't think so. I slipped right past Rainwhisker, and I'm quite sure that Brownback was asleep." She smiled at this, and swept past him to sniff a flower that had pushed out of the earth.

Nightpaw watched as she bent over the ground, her tail arched in a half-moon over her flank, and his eyes narrowed. He dropped down into a lopsided hunter's crouch, and without warning, launched into the air and landed squarely on Moonpaw's back. She had the sense not to yowl, but she gasped as they tumbled over into the dirt.

"You'll pay for that flower, DarkClan scum! That's LightClan's flower!" he growled, kicking at her sides with sheathed paws. Moonpaw heaved him off and turned to face him, with a half-smile half-snarl on her face. They rose to their hind legs and batted at each other like boxing hares, until Moonpaw gave a mighty push and Nightpaw toppled over.

"Hang on!" he cried, spitting out mud. "I want to be Nightfang! Warrior of LightClan!" He stood up, proud and tall, with his dark fur shimmering in the pale moonlight.

"Than I'll be Moonstar, _leader_ of DarkClan," Moonpaw replied casually, also rising to her full height.

"That's not fair! We're not even warriors yet, so you can't be leader!" Nightpaw cried indignantly. "You have to be a warrior too!"

Moonpaw opened her mouth to argue, but thought better of it and replied, "Fine. I'll be Moonsong, _warrior_ of DarkClan, if it means to fox-brained much to you." An exasperated smile flitted across her face before she grew serious again, looking Nightpaw up and down as if sizing him up for battle.

"Very well, Moonsong. If you insist on keeping the flower for your Clan, it must come to this," Nightpaw meowed in a deep, commanding voice. He flexed his paws and charged at Moonpaw, but she easily sidestepped and flung him past. He rolled head over heels into the grass, half yelping half laughing.

They battled back forth for the better part of the night, and finally, when both were too exhausted to prove who had won, Nightpaw caught a mouse for them to eat. In the excitement of the Battle for the Flower, he had entirely forgotten that it was against the warrior code to hunt before he had hunted for his Clan, and the warm blood of the mouse spilled into the cold, damp earth of DarkClan territory.

Many long hours later, once the moon had nearly disappeared, Nightpaw slipped into his nest. He sent a silent thanks to StarClan that none of his denmates were awake, and sank gratefully into his bed of moss. Sleep claimed him as soon as his head hit his paws.

All too soon, it seemed, loud voices forced Nightpaw awake. He blinked in the sudden sunlight. For a moment, he lay there staring at the bright den mouth, and then sudden realization swept over him.

"What time is it?!" he yelped, leaping to his feet, but there was no one else in the den. His heart pounding apprehensively, Nightpaw dashed out of the den, looking around in a panic.

"There you are, Nightpaw. Had a good little _nap_?" came a cold hiss. Nightpaw flinched and turned to meet the eyes of his mentor, Stoneclaw. The gray tom was seated outside the apprentice's den, his green eyes like chips of emerald as he nodded stiffly to his apprentice.

"Stoneclaw, I-" Nightpaw began, guilt flooding his head.

"There is no need to explain, Nightpaw. Since you have missed dawn patrol, and sunhigh patrol just left camp, we will have to wait until dusk patrol leaves. In the meantime, you will search Yewdrop's pelt for ticks. Maybe the smell of mousebil will wake you up." He turned and stalked away, leaving Nightpaw frozen in the center of the clearing.

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	10. Chapter 10

**Here's Moonpaw.**

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Tigerstar stared down from the Highstone, his face expressionless as he surveyed his Clan, gathered beneath him. It was sunhigh, and a warm breeze was filtering lazily through the clearing. Despite the relaxed weather, tension hovered like a cloud of gnats in the air around the DarkClan camp. Moonpaw was wedged between Brightpaw and Honeyheart, her silver face turned expectantly up toward her leader.

"I have some startling news," Tigerstar began, his voice a deep rumble, like thunder crashing over the waiting cats. Moonpaw's heart was beating steadily and loudly beneath her rib cage, and a buzzing sound filled her ears. _How did he find out?_ She wailed to herself. _How did he know?_

"Our dawn patrol scented LightClan in our territory, along with the scent of killed prey."

For a moment, Moonpaw wanted to sink into the ground, sure that every head in the clearing was turning to stare at her in disbelief and doubt. Her eyes closed for a moment. And then she heard Brightpaw's indignant snarl, "Those two-faced prey-thieves! How dare they hunt in our territory!" and she realized that all eyes were fixed on Tigerstar, not one cat was looking at Moonpaw.

"Did you hear him?" Brightpaw growled, her whiskers quivering. "Can you believe that? I thought we were on pretty good terms with those skinny grass-eaters…great StarClan, can you believe that?" Brightpaw stood up and yowled, "We should fight them Tigerstar!"

Moonpaw was hovering between joining her friend in howling defiance of LightClan's treachery, to desperately trying to calm the surge of anger that had swept through the crowd. The memory of Nightpaw catching the mouse the night before flashed through her mind, and she winced guiltily, trying to push it away.

"Brightpaw, maybe we shouldn't be so rushed about it, battles are-" Moonpaw began tentatively. Another image jumped unbidden into her mind's eye, this time of Brightpaw tearing at Nightpaw's sleek black pelt, her claws smeared with his blood, screeching in his face. She shivered. _How could she stand by and watch while her Clanmates tore him to pieces. Her…her…what was he to her? Not her _best_ friend…_best_ friends didn't meet in secret; best friends didn't belong in different Clans. Not a brother to her either, there was nothing brotherly about their friendship. Maybe he was just a companion, a mutual friend. But that didn't seem right either. There wasn't a word to describe her bond with Nightpaw._

The crowd had calmed down, and now Tigerstar had begun to speak again. "Although I am deeply saddened by Turtlestar betrayal, I believe that there is no other alternative but to meet his Clan in battle. Remember, as honorable warriors and apprentices of DarkClan we fight to wound, to remind them that we punish those who break the warrior code, not to kill. If I see anyone harm a nursing queen, a kit, or an elder, they will be penalized as I see fit. We will attack the first _patrol_ we meet, not the camp, as this is not an individual issue between Clans."

Meows of approval and agreement filled the camp. A battle over a piece of stolen prey was nothing to kill over, of course, but the prospect of merely running beside one's Clanmates and uttering a battle cry drove most of the young toms into a frenzy of excitement.

"My first battle as a warrior!" Firestripes was saying proudly to Greenpaw as they twined tails, an eager gleam in both of their gazes.

"We will leave at dusk, when LightClan will probably be sending out a dusk patrol," Tigerstar meowed. "Stripedleg, Graythroat, Brownback, Firestripes, Foxpaw, Greenpaw…"

A chill swept down Moonpaw's spine. Though no one else seemed to notice, it seemed to her that Tigerstar paused, and turned his piercing amber gaze onto Moonpaw. His eyes bore deep into her soul, penetrating the thickest, blackest places of her mind, laying open her deepest secrets for the world to see. She saw the recognition on his face, the flash of utter shame at her terrible deeds, and saw him shake his head, his brow furrowed, and lash his tail as if to say, _I expected more from you Moonpaw. I thought you were a loyal DarkClan cat,_ but then the moment was gone.

"…And Moonpaw." Of course. _Of course_, he had called her name. She was his apprentice; _of course,_ she would go with him into battle. She had had ample training over the past few days; she knew enough skills to keep her standing. There was no reason on earth why she shouldn't be swelling with pride, with excitement. But she wasn't. Little by little, like exhaling as slowly as possible, Moonpaw deflated. She shrunk back, blinked once, twice, a grimace twisted her face, and she wanted to swat at her mentor's whiskers and say, "Great StarClan, Tigerstar, don't make me go!" but she didn't. She just sat; looking wilted and trying not to listen to anything.

"You lucky _furball!_" Brightpaw moaned, sitting back on her haunches with a defeated thud. "Ugh, the only battle I've ever been in was one tiny swat-fight over a patch of grass or something, I hardly got one single scratch!" Brightpaw paused and took in Moonpaw's dreadful scowl. She raised an eyebrow, her attitude immediately swinging from crestfallen and envious to suspicious and cynical. "Don't be so _nervous, _Moonpaw, it's just a _battle_, for StarClan's sake. Perk up a little." She treated her friend to a distant smile and then turned tail and loped away.

"Moonpaw! Hey, _Moonpaw_!" Someone called. The silver she-cat rose slowly to her feet, a great sigh escaping her. Even though she had been warned that she might one day have to meet Nightpaw in battle, the prospect had seemed far away, something she needn't worry about until it happened. Now, it was happening, and a solid, cold anxiety was settling in in the pit of Moonpaw's stomach.

It was Lunarpaw this time, with a weary-looking Crowclaw trailing behind him. "Moonpaw! I asked Crowclaw to give us some tips on fighting – you're going to need them today, I bet." The rest of the afternoon was filled with deadly boring tales of past battles and heroic DarkClan victories. By the time dusk was setting in, Moonpaw was half-asleep, and had almost forced herself to put the looming battle out of her mind.

"Will the cats that I have named to the patrol please join me by the Wide Tunnel!" Tigerstar's call rang out just as the sun had disappeared beneath the trees.

Moonpaw was jerked awake, and someone dragged her to the tunnel. She stared into the wide black mouth of the entrance to the network of underground paths, a mixture of dread and exhilaration filling her swirling brain. Maybe Nightpaw wouldn't even be there. Yes, that was a possibility. 

Tigerstar appeared at the head of patrol, glanced at each cat in turn, and then turned and swiftly led the way down into the black depths of the tunnel.

This was only the second time that Moonpaw had descended beneath the surface, but, like the first time, the transition from daylight to the soft darkness was easy, comfortable even. She felt at home down here, where her whiskers could feel every dimple and crack in the tunnel wall, where musty, earthy smells encircled her. 

"I can't believe that LightClan cats are afraid of the dark," murmured Foxpaw, genuine disbelief in his voice. His green eyes glowed like fireflies in the surrounding blackness.

"I heard they can't even climb trees," added Greenpaw with a scornful sneer.

"The whole lot of them are grass-eating, scrawny, thieves," Firestripes meowed with finality, as she padded along with her pelt brushing Greenpaw's. Moonpaw's pelt began to bristle, but she suppressed the shiver's crawling down her spine and remained silent as they walked along, following Tigerstar's scent as he led the way by memory. They made enough turns so that Moonpaw was profoundly disoriented, and then suddenly she was blinded by a flash of bright purple-ish light glaring through the opening in the tunnel before them.

Tigerstar ascended into the light, leading the DarkClan cats as a bird might fly at the head of his flock. His striped fur glittered the in the dim half-light of the twilight that was rapidly closing in around them.

"This plays to our advantage, Tigerstar!" said Stripedleg. Moonpaw blinked as the pale-furred tom actually flashed an eager smile. It was the first time she had ever seen Stripedleg show so much emotion. "We can see much better in the dark than LightClan warriors."

Tigerstar nodded gravely, surveying their surroundings. They had emerged on the top of a small hillock, hidden by a tiny copse of scrawny trees. They seemed to be just inside LightClan territory, and Moonpaw marveled at how far the tunnels must stretch beneath their territories.

And suddenly, as soon as she had gathered herself, Graythroat gave a great hiss of surprise, and jabbed into the air with his paw, indicating something on the moor that was spread before them. "LightClan!" he meowed under his breath.

Firestripes was quivering with excitement, and it took Moonpaw a moment to catch sight of the LightClan patrol, bounding nearer to them across the grassy hills. There looked to be five cats – three large warriors, and two smaller apprentices. They were almost upon the hillock where the DarkClan cats were crouched in hiding.

As if she was moving through water, Moonpaw hardly understood what happened in the next few moments it all happened so quickly and suddenly. One LightClan warrior suddenly stopped short, and the other halted at his flank. They raised their heads to the air, and then one of them yowled, "DarkClan!"

And then suddenly Moonpaw was hurried down the hill, and they were fighting, and it was chaos of fur, teeth and claws, and then there was a pause, and Moonpaw looked up, and her stomach gave a mighty heave – she was staring directly into a pair of clear blue eyes, and her horrified expression was mirrored in his gaze.

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	11. Chapter 11

**Here's Nightpaw again. It will mostly be Moonpaw and Nightpaw, but Twilightpaw is next and there are a good amount of chappies from his POV.**

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Nightpaw had never been so cold in all his life. And it wasn't even snowing. He stared at Moonpaw, neither of them moving, both of them wishing they were anywhere else but here.

"What are you doing, Nightpaw? Don't just stand there like a scared rabbit, fight!" cried Firefeather, charging past him at the heels of a small golden tom.

Looking desperately around, Nightpaw realized in horror that every other LightClan cat was engaged in battle with a DarkClan warrior, and that only he and Moonpaw remained alone and unmoving among the swaying stalks of heather. Night was descending rapidly onto the moor, and already Nightpaw's vision was blurred, his senses dulled. 

"Nightpaw, fight me!" came an anxious whisper.

Nightpaw blinked at the silver she-cat, crouched tensely across from him.

"What?" he mewed, bewildered.

"Attack me!" she hissed fiercely. Nightpaw stared at her, uncomprehending, and then suddenly she had disappeared. He looked around in confusion, wondering where she had run to, when he suddenly felt thorn-sharp claws dig into his soldier as Moonpaw landed squarely on his back. With a surprised yowl, he tumbled to the ground.

"Ouch!" Nightpaw cried, glaring up at Moonpaw. Her expression was pained, and he could see the battle raging in her eyes.

"You mouse-brain!" she hissed, flopping to the ground beside him and acting as if she was dazed from hitting the ground. "We're enemies, Nightpaw! _Enemies!_"

"But, Moonpaw…I can't attack you!" he mewed plaintively. His heart wrenched at the mere thought of it…sinking his claws into her shimmering silver fur…he couldn't bear to cause her pain…

"Then keep your claws in, for StarClan's sake, but don't just sit there like a witless idiot! Get _up_, Nightpaw!" She sprang for him and swatted him across the muzzle. Nightpaw jerked back, surprised, but found to his relief that her claws were sheathed and the blow was gentle.

Hesitantly, Nightpaw extended a dark forepaw and returned the blow, more like a soft pat than a slap. Moonpaw rolled her eyes, and then they were fighting as they had before. He was Nightfang and she was Moonsong, they were warriors of LightClan and DarkClan, and they were fighting an epic battle on the bloodied slopes of the wind-swept moor…

"DarkClan! _DarkClan retreat!_" came Tigerstar's distant yowl. Nightpaw was jerked out of his reverie. Moonpaw glanced at him as they paused, standing a few feet from each other, breathing heavily. 

"Tomorrow night, if we aren't in trouble," she meowed softly, and slithered away, following her leader as the DarkClan patrol, limping and yowling defiance, withdrew from the battlefield. They staggered back across the border, melted into the trees, and were gone. A tiny piece of Nightpaw was gone too.

"A sound victory!" Stoneclaw reported to Turtlestar once they had returned to camp.

Turtlestar purred and glanced down approvingly at the bedraggled patrol. "You are all welcome to as much prey as you can fit in your stomachs tonight. A job well done." He exchanged a few more words with Stoneclaw and then padded away. The rest of the patrol disintegrated, each cat heading his or her separate way. Nightpaw turned for the apprentice's den, which was an old badger set tucked behind a dilapidated Twoleg shed, fatigue weighing him down, but the touch of a tail on his flank made him stop.

"Nightpaw," Stoneclaw meowed. Panic swelled in Nightpaw's chest as he turned. _Oh StarClan_, he said to himself, _Oh StarClan, he saw! He saw that I was fighting Moonpaw with my claws sheathed!_

"Nightpaw, I saw how you fought today."

Nightpaw's stomach plummeted, and he blinked, bracing himself for what was coming next.

"You fought like a warrior…I'm proud of you. I think I'll have to exempt you from elder duty, though I don't appreciate you sleeping past sunhigh every morning. Tomorrow you rise with the sun, but we can do whatever you want…battle training, maybe. Well done, Nightpaw." Stonelcaw dipped his head to his apprentice, turned tail, and strode off, leaving a stunned Nightpaw in his wake.

A little shaken, Nightpaw padded into the apprentice's den and curled up in his nest of moss. He could see the slender form of Lightpaw huddled in a corner, asleep. In a moment, Nightpaw joined him, slipping into a comfortable blackness.

What seemed like mere seconds later, a loud yowl woke Nightpaw from his deep slumber. "May all cats old enough to catch their own prey please gather here beneath the Highfence!" It was Turtlestar. Wondering what on earth could be so important so as to take Nightpaw away from his sleep, the small dark tom got wearily to his feet and tripped his way into the morning sunlight. Turtlestar was perched on the fence that encircled the Horseplace, the cats of LightClan gathering beneath him.

"What's happening?" Flamepaw questioned curiously. Envying her cheerful alertness, he sat down at the edge of the crowd and turned his face up to Turtlestar.

"First, I would like to announce that our skirmish with DarkClan was a victory! We drove them out of our territory quickly and with no major wounds. Tigerstar says that he found our scent and the scent of prey inside his territory. Though I don't doubt that this is what he _thought_ he smelled, for I know Tigerstar to be an honorable, fair leader, I am quite sure that none of our warriors would be mouse-brained enough to hunt in another Clan's territory."

Nightpaw shuddered and carefully avoided any cat's gaze, fearing that his guilt might be betrayed through his eyes.

"I am willing to forgive this act, but if we find DarkClan cats in our territory again, it will mean more than just a border fight. Now, onto a happier business! I am proud to call upon Oceanpaw and Glazepaw to receive their warriors names, as their mentors tell me that they both fought very well in the battle." **(A/N: I can't remember if I said that the LightClan patrol had two or three apprentices, but whatever I did say, I am saying now that Nightpaw, Oceanpaw and Glazepaw were all there. Yeah.)**

The two apprentices, a pale brown she cat and a brown tabby tom rose to their feet and hurried to the base of the Highfence, their newly washed pelts glistening in the pale dawn sunlight.

"I, Turtlestar, leader of LightClan call upon our warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has fought bravely in battle and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Oceanpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Oceanpaw lifted her chin and replied in a clear voice, "I do."

Turtlestar nodded and continued. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Oceanpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Oceandawn. StarClan trusts you to give all your strength and wisdom to this Clan."

Oceandawn dipped her head, and Turtlestar dropped down from the Highfence to rest is muzzle between her ears, and the jumped back up amid raucous cries of, "Oceandawn! Oceandawn! Oceandawn!"

Now it was Glazepaw's turn. The pale brown tabby tom took his sister's place at Turtlestar's feet, excitement showing in every movement he made.

"I, Turtlestar, leader of LightClan call upon our warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. He has fought bravely in battle and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Glazepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Glazepaw answered, "I do," more of a quaver in his voice than his sister.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Glazepaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Glazerock. StarClan trusts you to give all your loyalty and courage to this Clan."

He performed the same actions to Glazerock as he had to Oceandawn, though this time he remain on the ground as the Clan greeted Glazerock by his new name and congratulated the two siblings.

Nightpaw murmured a few words to the two cats, whom he hadn't been particularly good friends although he had trained with them on many occasions, and then tried to quietly slip back to his den to catch a wink more of sleep. 

"Nightpaw!" He groaned inwardly at the sound of his name, and turned to face Stoneclaw, who had an absurdly joyful smile plastered on his dark gray face.

"Time for battle training!" Stoneclaw called. Nightpaw gave a weary sigh and followed his mentor out of the camp.

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	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry this took so long. Here's Twilightpaw.**

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Morning came far too swiftly. Yesterday had been a long day – Littleleaf had had him out gathering herbs all day, and Twilightpaw had come back footsore, dusty, and frustrated. He hated the fact that he had to walk so slowly to make sure he didn't trip, he hated the fact that all he was good at was stumbling around like a stupid kit and chewing up leaves. He hated the fact that he had no parents, that he didn't know where he was from. And on some days, everything he hated came crashing down around him like rain in a thunderstorm, and he wanted to just crawl into a hole and sleep for a moon.

Yesterday had been one of those days, and he had gratefully crawled into his den lat night, looking forward to a moon of good, restful sleep, but then someone had rudely awoken him the very next morning, and the stench of resentment still clung to his paws.

"Get up, Twilightpaw! The sun's been in the sky forever, and you're still sleeping like a newborn kit!" Littleleaf prodded him in the side. "You could at least _pretend_ to be useful."

Twilightpaw rose to his feet, his jaw clenched tight to help from spitting back a nasty retort. "Of course, Littleleaf, I'm sorry," he said tightly.

Littleleaf sighed. "I know it's hard, Twilightpaw, but I had to learn to live with blindess, and so will you. StarClan gave us our own kind of sight, and I expect that they won't like it if we don't use it. Anyway, I need you to take these juniper berries to Icecliff, his joints are aching, and after that, Lightsky thinks that Rosekit might have a cough, I need to check her." Littleleaf shoved a few bitter smelling berries into Twilightpaw's paws, and then turned away and went back to his work.

Sighing remorsefully, Twilightpaw gently rolled the berries onto his tongue and then trotted out of the den. Though he couldn't see it, he could feel the warm sunlight on his dark fur, and he forced himself to enjoy it as he wove through the maze of falling down buildings. The elder's den was in a small hole, sheltered by the remains of what might have been a fence that had tumbled together.

The two elders, Icecliff and Yewdrop, were sunning themselves outside, and mewed raspy greetings as Twilightpaw approached.

"Finally, I was beginning to think poor old Littleleaf had forgotten me," meowed Icecliff. He willingly lapped up the juniper berries that Twilightpaw placed in front of him, and then carried on his murmured conversation with Yewdrop. Twilightpaw didn't bother to stick around, and instead trotted back along the worn path until he reached the tiny house that still had the faint scent of bird. **(A/N: a chicken coop)**. Inside, he could hear the murmur of she-cats and the mewling of a kit.

"Why, Twilightpaw! I was beginning to think Littleleaf had forgotten all about me and Rosekit," mewed one she-cat as he ducked into the little shelter. Twilightpaw rolled his sightless eyes and gave an agitated flick of his tail.

"I've come to see if Rosekit has a cough," he said flatly.

The queen, Lightsky, was quiet for a moment, and Twilightpaw guessed, with his infallible 'sixth sense', that she had nodded. She seemed not to realize her mistake, but went on and meowed, "Yes. Here she is. She's been very quiet and wheezing a bit all morning. Is she alright?"

Twilightpaw bent to sniff the tiny kit. There was certainly a little tinge of sickness in the air around her, but after a few gentle breaths, Twilightpaw determined that it wasn't a cough, only a cold. He said as much to Lightsky, who released a sigh of relief.

"Thank StarClan. I didn't want greencough to be spreading around," she murmured. There was a chorus of agreement from the other queen who was curled in a corner of the den.

Twilightpaw gave a flick of his whiskers in acknowledgement, and then murmured, "I'll bring her something for it." He backed out of the cool blackness of the den and into the warm blackness of the open air.

Littleleaf had disappeared by the time Twilightpaw returned, but luckily his sensitive nose led him to the right herbs. He had mixed cold medicines before – it was one of the easiest combinations. He placed a few stalks of yarrow, some catmint for the cough, and a poppyseed or two in a wide, cupped leaf, and lifted it gingerly in his mouth.

The queens murmured a greeting again as he came into the den. Twilightpaw dropped the leaf and quickly lapped up the herbs, chewing them so that the tiny kit could swallow.

"What is he doing, mother?" Rosekit squeaked, watching Twilightpaw with wide eyes.

"Fixing up a cure for your sniffles," Lightsky replied quietly and she gently washed Rosekit's ears. Twilightpaw left the mixture for Rosekit to eat and backed out of the den again.

Without a task, Twilightpaw wandered aimlessly between the falling down buildings of the old, disused farm. The faint scent of creatures that he didn't even think cats had a name for lingered in the afternoon air. Horses, dogs too, but other scents that Twilightpaw always found intriguing. He realized he was really grateful that Littleleaf was also blind. He was glad that someone understood what he was feeling, not being able to see what was going on around him. He had mentioned the ancient scents to some of the other apprentices when he was younger, and none of them could smell what he did, but Littleleaf did, and they discussed it sometimes.

Suddenly, as Twilightpaw's mind wandered to old times, the blood-chilling yowl of a cat shattered his thoughts. His dark fur bristled and his blind eyes grew wide.

"What is it?" he cried, looking franticly around. His nose told him nothing, only that cats were emerging from their dens, and that fear was beginning to take hold of the LightClan camp. The yowl sounded again, and now somebody finally cried out: "Dawnsdust! It sounds like Dawnsdust!" and suddenly the entire camp was in uproar.

Twilightpaw followed the scent of the crowd of cats as they converged on the camp entrance, waiting to greet whatever came through the tunnel. They waited moments that could have stretched into hours, until a scent finally reached Twilightpaw's nose that made his stomach turn. "Blood," he murmured. The cats next to him stirred.

"…what did he say…"

"…louder, Twilightpaw, what did you smell?"

Twilightpaw raised his head and sifted the air, just to be sure. "Blood!" he meowed. There was a gasp and a wail of horror from one of the younger apprentices.

"What's happened?"

"The sunhigh patrol! I'm sure it is, they've been attacked!" cried Firetalon wildly. Panic rolled off her in waves.

"That was yesterday, mouse-brain, DarkClan wouldn't attack again!" replied Glazerock curtly.

"Yes," Sablemask meowed solemnly, "it must be something else."

Their questions were soon answered, because a moment later, the sunhigh patrol came into view. Though Twilightpaw couldn't see them, he could smell them, and his pads became clammy with sweat.

Permeating the air was fear-scent, the scent of blood, and the acrid, artificial scent of Twolegs.

"Great StarClan, somebody help them!" cried Firetalon. There was a moment of hesitation – no one wanted to be the first out to help the five cats limping toward them over the moor. Exasperated, Twlightpaw pushed his way to the front of crowd and began to trot across the grass, his senses alert for every vibration in the air.

As he walked, he felt another presence beside him, and soon Littleleaf's scent filled his nostrils.

"Twolegs," meowed the medicine cat. His voice carried everything else that he couldn't put into words, and Twilightpaw could practically feel his thoughts as they marched.

"I wonder what's gone wrong?" he meowed.

"Perhaps they were hit by a monster," Littleleaf replied, but they both knew that the smell of the Thunderpath was one that didn't tinge the air at the moment.

"Littleleaf!" gasped out one of the cats. Twilightpaw recognized the voice as that of Frostfoot, and quickly figured out that the other four cats were Stoneclaw, Firefeather, Flamepaw and Dawnsdust.

"Twolegs…we were attacked, I don't know what did it…Dawnsdust…gasped out Frostfoot.

Littleleaf and Twilightpaw helped them back to the camp, and the hushed crowd of spectators fell silent as they limped toward the medicine den. Twilightpaw could smell that Stoneclaw, Firefeather and Flamepaw were shaken but not wounded, and only Frostfoot and Dawnsdust were bleeding. As Littleleaf arranged nests for the two injured she-cats, he handed out poppy seeds to the deputy and the rest of the patrol, and quickly ushered them out of the den. He could hear furtive murmuring among the LightClan cats as they questioned their comrades about the patrol.

Sighing, Twilightpaw returned to his mentor's side to go over the other cats' injuries.

"Frostfoot has a gash in her left hind leg. Easily fixed, it doesn't even penetrate the muscle or anything like that. You know what to put on it?" Littleleaf asked while bent over a pile of herbs.

Twilightpaw was lucky in that he had a clear head in times like these, and the scents of the required medicine instantly filled his head.

"Marigold," he recited, " to stop infection, and Nettle leaves to stop the swelling."

"Very good. They're back there, I sorted some yesterday," Littleleaf murmured.

The raucous meows from outside the den were beginning to get on Twilightpaw's nerves, but he ignored them and went to find the marigold. He gathered a few leaves of each herb and began to chew them rhythmically. When he had done it for long enough, the dark-furred apprentice, spat the mixture onto Frostfoot's leg wound. She had remained quite calm during the whole procedure, and Twlightpaw admired her strength, but at the sting from the poultice she released a tiny gasp and a shiver sped down her spine.

"I'm sorry, Frostfoot, the nettle has a bit of a sting. D'you want some poppyseeds?"

Frostfoot hesitated, than meowed, "Yes, please. I wouldn't mind a wink of sleep."

Twilightpaw gave her a few seeds to swallow, and then began to plaster cobwebs on her leg. "What exactly happened?" he asked after a moment. He felt the warrior's leg tense at his words.

"I think it's best to let Stoneclaw tell you – I didn't see much of what went on after I was injured."

Twilightpaw wondered for a moment if she'd ran away, but he scolded himself for it, aware that Frostfoot was one of the most courageous warriors in LightClan and would surely never run from any battle.

Once he had finished dressing her wound and Frostfoot was teetering on brink of sleep, Twilightpaw allowed her to go to the warriors' den, and instead her turned to help Littleleaf.

"She's hurt pretty badly," the medicine cat murmured when he noticed that Twilightpaw was at his shoulder. The medicine cat apprentice bent down and sniffed at Dawnsdust's wounds.

"Cuts on her shoulder…a snagged claw…twisted ankle…broken bone in her tail…her ear torn…torn shoulder muscle…Great StarClan, what did this to her? A dog? A badger? _Twolegs_?" cried Twilightpaw in disbelief. A groan from the she-cat silenced him, but he continued to stare down at where he knew she lay, concern etched into his brow.

"Apparently, if we understood Frostfoot correctly. I hope nothing's gone terribly wrong. I've always wondered about the dangers of living in an old Twoleg nest. Perhaps my fears have been realized," Littleleaf replied as his paws prodded and poked down Dawnsdust's tail.

"I hadn't thought of that," Twilightpaw gasped, shocked that the thought hadn't occurred to him. "Of course, though, they want their nests back! What did LightClan ever choose this place as a camp?" he meowed. If he could have turned to a StarClan warrior and shouted in his face he might have, and he was glad there weren't any StarClan warriors about.

"Perhaps they didn't know that Twolegs ever had been here, or would ever come back."

"But this place reeks of Twolegs and their creatures!" Twilightpaw scoffed.

Littleleaf's head turned towards him, and he could feel the tom's breath hot on his ears. "They can't smell it, Twilightpaw, you know that. This place smells like LightClan to them, nothing more."

Twilightpaw was stunned into silence. For a moment they stood there, and then Twilightpaw broke the tension by murmuring quietly, "Will she be okay?"

Littleleaf was quiet for a second, and then he meowed, "She has no fatal injuries, but she is quite beat up, and her risk of infection is high. However, she will most definitely live if her wounds don't become infected, and will probably return to being a healthy, strong warrior if there are no other complications and she treats her wounds with respect until they are fully healed."

Twilightpaw was used to Littleleaf's 'respect the wounds' speech, and he waited until it was over before adding, "And can I help?"

"Moss," Littleleaf meowed curtly, his mind already wandering back to his work.

Twilightpaw sighed and padded out of the den. He passed the crowd of murmuring cats, crouched in a circle around Turtlestar and Stoneclaw, and slipped out of camp onto the moor. The setting sun cast a red-gold light on the hills, so that it look as if every blade of grass was on fire.

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**Dun dun dun…so what did happen to the LightClan patrol? You'll find out next chappie!**


	13. Chapter 13

Here's Moonpaw

**Here's Moonpaw. The story is starting to pick up now…there's actually a plot, I promise. I sort of forget what season is and I'm too lazy to go back and look (sorry, hehe…) but I'm pretty sure that it was late Greenleaf, and Leaf-fall/Leafbare is just around the corner. I think… Oh, and also, technically, Nightpaw is now 13 moons old, so he should become a warrior soon, but tell me if you think that'd be a bit **_**to**_** soon.**

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"Further down, Moonpaw, so your belly fur almost touches the ground," Tigerstar instructed, circling his apprentice like a warrior circling its foe.

Moonpaw blinked, and then bent forward a little bit, doing as her mentor instructed. She had been holding the hunting crouch for position for what seemed like ages, and her muscles were burning painfully. Tigerstar made one lap, scrutinizing her stance, and then finally stopped and nodded to her.

"Very good. It's time you tired it on some real prey."

Moonpaw gratefully slumped to the ground and gave a long, luxurious stretch before following the huge tabby into the woods. Tigerstar was still stung by DarkClan's defeat on the previous day. Three warriors were remained in the medicine den, and they wouldn't be able to fight for a while. Stripedleg and Graythroat had wanted to launch an immediate retaliation against LightClan, but Tigerstar had firmly refused. There had been an uncomfortable tension all day today, and Moonpaw suspected that Tigerstar had taken her out hunting just to escape it.

"You know how to hunt mice already, right?" Tigerstar meowed. He had stopped in a small clearing by the Ancient Oak, and is muzzle was raised in the air, checking for prey.

"Honeyheart taught me a few days ago," Moonpaw replied. She had now been an apprentice for three moons; the excitement and novelty was just beginning to die, and the boredom and anticipation of becoming a warrior was setting in. Hopefully, in another four or five moons, she would have her warrior name.

"Good, we'll start with mice since I smell some, and maybe move on to birds if we have time," Tigerstar meowed. He glanced over his shoulder at the silver she-cat, his whiskers twitching.

"Sounds good," Moonpaw replied. Tigerstar nodded curtly and padded forward, sniffing around for the mice.

"I smell them too," said Moonpaw, a tad boastfully, and eagerly locked onto the scent. It was coming from the base of an oak sapling at the edge of the clearing. Moonpaw dropped into a hunter's crouch and scooted forward across the warm earth until she was almost on top of the mouse. She could see it, sitting among a bed of fallen leaves with a cracked acorn clasped in its front paws. It didn't seem to be aware of her, so Moonpaw wasted no time. She quickly darted forward, her pupils wide and black, and with a silent swipe the mouse was in the air, and then Moonpaw swiftly bit its neck as soon as it was on the ground.

Moonpaw turned back to Tigerstar with the mouse clutched in her jaws, a triumphant smile on her face.

"Very good, but it'd be easier _not_ to play with your food before you catch it. Remember to give StarClan thanks for its life, and then lets move on."

Moonpaw took what little praise he gave gratefully – Tigerstar wasn't known to hand out random compliments like some mentors. She liked it though, because she knew that whenever he _did_ congratulate her, she had done something truly worth the praise.

They hunted for the rest of the day, and Moonpaw caught two more mice and a thrush, she was still a little bit disappointed. She had been hoping to catch a crow or something like that, enough to impress Tigerstar so that maybe he'd let her sleep late tomorrow. If she was going to meet Nightpaw tonight, she didn't want to be too tired.

The sun was already licking the treetops when Moonpaw had uncovered the last piece of prey that she had caught. Tigerstar carried the mice for her, and they began the long trek back to camp from the opposite edge of DarkClan territory, by the Moonpool.

As they neared the camp wall, Moonpaw noticed that something didn't seem right. It was eerily quiet – the usual rustle of camp life was absent. Tigerstar seemed to notice it to, and he surged forward, the mice swinging from his jaws.

"Careful!" Moonpaw cried, fear jolting in her heart, but she realized that it was futile to warn her own mentor and leader to be careful, no matter how scared she was.

They raced into camp, and Moonpaw braced herself, expecting the camp to be destroyed by a vengeful LightClan patrol, but was stunned to find most of the warriors arranged in a half circle around the Highstone.

"Tigerstar!" one of the cats yowled. It was Stripedleg – he stood on the Highstone, and beside him, to Moonpaw's surprise, was Coldheart.

"What's going on here?" Tigerstar growled. His eyes flashed a he strode, stiff-legged, up to the circle of cats.

There was a commotion in the crowd, and then suddenly another cat was pushed forward, and Moonpaw's hackles rose. _LightClan!_ "What's that LightClan cat doing here?" she hissed.

"M-my name is F-frostfoot," she wheezed. The she-cat was ragged and stank of blood, and fear swelled in Moonpaw's chest. What in the name of StarClan had happened to this poor cat?

"Why are you here, Frostfoot?" Tigerstar growled. "And why is no one tending to your wounds?" The huge tabby looked up, a challenging glare in his amber eyes.

"No, Tigerstar! This cat is a spy! We should send her away immediately, not tend to her wounds!" Coldheart hissed. The blue-gray tabby's tail was lashing as he started down at Tigerstar from atop the Highstone.

A cold silence fell around them as Tigerstar turned to slowly to face Coldheart, his ruff bristling menacingly. "I am leader of DarkClan, Coldheart, in case it has somehow slipped your mind. If I want this cat to be treated, she will very well be treated, and I won't have you arguing. If you think you can lead this Clan better than I can, you will have to prove it in a fair fight. Is that what you want?"

Tension crackled like electricity in the air as Coldheart started unblinking at Tigerstar, his eyes hard and flat. For a moment Moonpaw thought he was going to spring down and challenge Tigerstar right there, but then he stood and slithered down from the Highstone to bow at Tigerstar's paws.

"Of course not," the tabby purred silkily, his eyes glittering. "StarClan-" he spit the word with a bitter vehemence – "chose you as our leader, and who am _I_ to go against the word of our blessed warrior ancestors? No Tigerstar, I do not challenge you." When he rose to his feet, there was a badly concealed smirk on his face, and he loped to the back of the crowd without another word. Tigerstar glared after him, his gaze icy.

"Very well, then," he murmured, and leaped gracefully up to his rightful position on the Highstone. By now, Silverpool had hurried forward, and was gently dressing Frostfoot's wounds. "Stripedleg," Tigerstar meowed, addressing the pale-furred deputy. The large tom turned and dipped his head, his expression unreadable. "I hope that you can tell me why there is a wounded LightClan warrior in my camp, and Coldheart thinks he belongs on the Highstone?"

Stripedleg hesitated, his eyes flickering from the stone below him to the sky above – anywhere but his leader's piercing stare. "Perhaps you should ask Frostfoot herself," he meowed finally, and then added hastily, "If she's well enough to speak."

"I am well enough, thank you," Frostfoot meowed a little sharply. All eyes turned towards her.

"What's happened to LightClan?" Spottedpelt yowled. There was a murmur, and then Tigerstar waved his tail for silence.

"Our camp has been destroyed by Twolegs and their monsters," Frostfoot meowed loudly, and then broke into a fit of coughing.

"Twolegs?!" Spottedpelt cried in disbelief.

"How?"

"When?"

"Did they attack you?"

"Is Turtlestar dead?"

"Silence!!" roared Tigerstar, his whiskers trembling. A hush fell over the cats, and Frostfoot continued shakily.

"I was on patrol the morning after the battle," she began, with a faint emphasis on the word _battle_. Moonpaw could see Tigerstar flinch. "We were patrolling near the Green-pelt place, where the Twolegs usually bring their kit in the summer. We thought that most of them would be gone, since they don't stay there past leaf-fall. They can't be outside when it's cold, you know. But anyway, we were just strolling along – it was a regular patrol, you know – and then all of a sudden some Twolegs came running towards us from out of nowhere, and they were waving these great big sticks with stone-cobwebs **(A/N: Nets. You know those things that animal control officers use to catch rabid dogs and stuff.) **on the ends. They caught Dawnsdust, even though she was fighting like a warrior of StarClan. We all managed to escape in the end, even though Dawnsdust was almost dead, and we were all wounded…" She stopped and took a wheezing breath before continuing more slowly.

"It was awful, but we thought we'd escaped them. We got back to camp, and we fine there for a while, and then just last night and this morning we realized that the Twolegs had followed us, and there were more of them, and they had surrounded the camp. Then they all came at us, and everyone scattered. It was dreadful…they kicked in our dens and knocked over the Highfence and everything…" She was really coughing now, and Silverpool led her away to the medicine den.

A stunned silence claimed the camp for a moment. _Was it true? Was it possible? LightClan was gone?_

"Did LightClan survive?" meowed Snowheart after a moment, voicing the question on everyone's mind. Tigerstar was deep in thought, and he seemed not to hear Snowhearts's question.

"We need to find out if they're alright," he murmured, half to himself. "Stripedleg, I need you to organize some patrols. We have to go look for ourselves at what's happened to LightClan."

Stripedleg nodded and dropped own from the Highstone already calling out names. "Rainwhisker, Honeyheart, Darkmoon and Greenpaw, escort Frostfoot back to her Clan and try to gather them all together on the island."

The four cats immediately rose and went to the medicine den to get Frostfoot. Stripedleg surveyed the rest of the cats, his eyes narrowed and calculating. "Silverswift, Brownback, Firestripes and Brightpaw, head to the Green-pelt place and see if there are still Twolegs around. Be careful, don't let them see you." The patrol padded out of camp. "And finally, Graythroat, Snowheart, Ravenflight, Foxpaw and myself will go to the LightClan camp."

Stripedleg turned to go, but was stopped as Tigerstar stepped in front of him. "No, I want Ravenflight to stay here - Coldheart and Lunarpaw will go with you instead."

Stripedleg hesitated, then dipped his head and called to the two cats. They raced out of camp a moment later.

The camp seemed eerily empty once all the patrols had left. Tigerstar called to Silverpool and they vanished into his den. Sighing, Moonpaw padded to the fresh-kill pile and dropped the thrush, which she remembered that she was still holding. After a moment's thought, she picked it up again and padded to the center of camp to eat it.

It seemed that after the excitement of the evening, the other cats in the clearing were drawn together. The cats that had remained in camp – Moonpaw, Spottedpelt, Blackclaw, Nightsky and Ravenflight – gathered together in the center of the camp, many with fresh-kill between their paws.

"I wonder what's happened to LightClan? No matter how much I hate them sometimes, it'd be awful if they…if they…" Ravenflight trailed off, fear glinting in her eyes.

Spottedpelt gave a sad gasp. "They're not all dead! If worst comes to worst, and only _if_, they might have to find a new home."

"That'd be pretty bad," Nightsky reflected mournfully.

"What if the Twolegs come here?" Blackclaw meowed.

"StarClan will protect us, or help us find a new home, if need be," Moonpaw meowed, wishing they would stop predicting the doom of the Clans. And only then did she realize that she had forgotten to meet Nightpaw, and soon after that, fear struck like a cold claw in her heart. _What is Nightpaw is dead?_


	14. Chapter 14

**Here's the next chapter. Here's Nightpaw. This is an extra-specially long chapter, since for the next week or so I will probably be working on yet another book report…read this and savor it, my friends…**

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Nightpaw struggled through the bramble thicket, panic making his heart throb painfully. Scents swirled thickly around his muzzle as he splashed through muddy puddles and charged past swinging bracken fronds. He could smell his Clanmates dashing through the hedges as they fled the trampled camp.

Shouts also echoed through the dim night air. Twolegs with their cat-catching devices pursued them, running with their long clumsy legs and huge feet that could mean death to any cat caught in their path. This thought spurred Nightpaw onward, and he thrust past a clutching blackberry bush.

The stink of the Thunderpath soon overwhelmed all other scents. As soon as Nightpaw emerged from the hedge, the damp strip of reeking black stone faced him. He peered up and down the side of the path, squinting against a harsh breeze that billowed across the eerily smooth surface. A blood-chilling yowl sounded behind him, and he cringed away from the hedge, blood pounding in his ears.

Throwing caution to the wind, Nightpaw closed his eyes and sprinted out across the hard stone path, feeling the skin on his pads tear as he ran. Blood began to well up between his toes, but he ignored it, and dived into the cover of the ferns on the opposite side. For a moment, there was silence, and only Nightpaw's harsh, ragged breathing was audible in the blackness. Than another yowl split the air, and a Twoleg's yelp.

Fear for his Clanmates froze Nightpaw's blood, but he remained where he was, crouched and shivering beneath a wide-leafed fern.

"Firetalon!" someone cried. "_Firetalon!"_ The desperate scream was almost too much for Nightpaw to bear. He tensed, closed his eyes, and huddled as low as he could to the ground. Suddenly, a great black shape came crashing straight towards him. Unable to move, Nightpaw braced himself. The shadow stumbled and rolled past him, coming to a stop a few feet behind Nightpaw's hiding place, against the base of a fence.

Cautiously, the black apprentice got to his feet and scooted over to see whom it was. He took a tentative taste of the air, and recoiled as he detected the scent of a rogue. For a moment Nightpaw's training took hold of him, and he almost attacked the cat, logic abandoning him in his panic. Nightpaw raised his claws, and then sudden realization crashed over him and he almost laughed. _What are you doing, thinking of protecting your territory at a time like this?_ He scolded himself.

"Firetalon?" whimpered the rogue. He lifted his head for a moment, before his eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped to the ground. Nightpaw swallowed the bile that had risen in his throat, and tiptoed closer.

"Hello?" he hissed, prodding the tom in his flank. The cat groaned and burbled something, and then slowly came awake again.

"Who are you?" asked the rogue. His dark blue eyes were cloudy, and he stared at Nightpaw with a frown on is face. "Where are Firetalon and Black-kit?"

"I – I don't know," Nightpaw stammered. "My name is Nightpaw."

The black tom blinked, and then rose to his feet. He took a few shaky steps before collapsing again with a moan. "I can't walk…I can't even walk…" he whispered mournfully.

"Who are _you_?" Nightpaw mewed nervously, watching the rogue from a safe distance away. "Why do you want to know where Firetalon is?"

The rogue didn't look at him for moment, peering narrow-eyed out at the Thunderpath. Then he turned to Nightpaw, his tail curling thoughtfully over his head. "My name is Jasper. Are you from Firetalon's…klan?"

"Yes, I…guess…so," Nightpaw replied hesitantly. How did Jasper know about the Clans? He'd never heard of the rogue before.

"Firetalon is my mate," Jasper meowed suddenly. There was a subtle boastful hint in his voice, as if he was proud to have a Clan warrior as a mate. "Black-kit is our daughter."

Nightpaw gaped at him, blinking. He'd never known who Black-kit's father was, but she-cats weren't required to say who the father of their kits was. Finding out that Jasper was Firetalon's mate was like finding out that he had a long-lost sister.

"How…when…?" Nightpaw spluttered. "That's against the warrior code! Does Turtlestar know?"

Jasper cast Nightpaw a sad smile. "I know it's against your rules, that's why we can't always be together. But I get to see her sometimes, and my sweet Black-kit. Of course Turtlestar knows – he caught her once, as an apprentice, coming to meet me. He's a good cat though; he let us stay together. Firetalon isn't allowed to sneak out anymore. She has to ask Turtlestar's permission now."

Nodding, Nightpaw rose to his feet again. The screams and shouts had faded, and now Nightpaw wanted to find his Clan.

"I've got to go see if everyone is all right," he said to Jasper in explanation, padding past him to the edge of the Thunderpath again.

"I'll come," Jasper meowed, hurrying after him. "I don't like it here. I'd feel better with one of you fighting cats next to me."

Nightpaw suppressed a smug grin, and then loped closer to the Thunderpath, so that his pas just touched the edge. It was usually quiet at night, so Nightpaw wasn't too scared. He had calmed down since his wild flight from the Twolegs, and it was easier to see where he was now.

Already, Nightpaw caught the scent of a few LightClan cats around. The stench of the Thunderpath covered them up a little, so he couldn't tell who the cats were or exactly where they were hidden.

"Come one, let's cross," Jasper urged nervously. Nightpaw flicked is tail in annoyance, motioning for the rogue to be quiet. After waiting for a few seconds, Nightpaw darted out over the rough stone, biting back a cry as the stone bit into his pads again, reopening the wounds that were already there.

When he finally stumbled onto the opposite edge, Nightpaw quickly flopped down and began to lick his feet, wincing his rough tongue scraped at the tender skin. Jasper came sprinted over a few moments later, his eyes wide and his fur on end.

"You left me over there!" the black tom hissed, shaking his paws out one by one.

Nightpaw shrugged and didn't answer.

Finally, when the sting had gone out of his scratches, Nightpaw got to his feet and stretched, and then led the way up the edge of the Thunderpath. Jasper sniffed every stalk of grass, searching for Firetalon's scent.

"I can smell her, you know, and he's not here. I'll tell you if I scent her," Nightpaw meowed.

"I can search for her on my own, thank you," Jasper mewed curtly, missing the point. Nightpaw rolled his eyes and continued, trying to ignore Jasper's useless snuffles.

Finally, he could detect LightClan scent, and very close.

"Stoneclaw?" mewed the apprentice quietly. He waited a moment for a response, his tail lashing.

"Nightpaw, is that you? Who's with you?"

Relief swept through Nightpaw, along with a fatigue that he hadn't noticed before. The black apprentice stumbled through the bushes, and then came face to face with his mentor and deputy.

"Thank StarClan!" Stoneclaw cried, and bent forward to lick Nightpaw awkwardly between his ears. The apprentice ducked away, embarrassed, but was grateful none-the-less. "Jaywing thought he saw you captured by Twolegs."

Nightpaw peered over Stoneclaw's shoulder and found two other LightClan cats: Jaywing and Lightsky, who carried a tiny kit in her jaws.

"This is Jasper, he's a rogue," Nightpaw introduced, beckoning the black tom forward. Jasper stalked out from behind him, his eyes blazing. Stoneclaw nodded to him, his jaw hard.

"What are you doing here?" the deputy questioned not entirely unkindly.

"Looking for my mate," Jasper replied sharply. Stoneclaw's eyes flickered, but he said nothing.

"Very well. Nightpaw I need you to help me find the others. Jaywing's twisted his ankle, and Lightsky can't leave Rosekit."

Nightpaw nodded. "Jasper can stay here and guard them, can't you Jasper?"

The black rogue hesitated, then nodded and went to sit a few tail-lengths away from Lightsky, his eyes narrowed. Stoneclaw nuzzled Lightsky's ear and then padded away, Nightpaw at his heels.

"I thought I heard Oceandawn and Glazerock calling to each other down this way," Stoneclaw meowed, weaving in and out of the bramble thickets and berry bushes that lined the edge of the Thunderpath.

"Where exactly are we?" Nightpaw asked tentatively.

"We're pretty far down on the Thunderpath, actually. I know I ran like a warrior of StarClan when I saw those Twolegs, though I don't like to admit it. Across from us, behind the fence on the other side of the Thunderpath, is a big field, and next to us right now is a forest, and beyond that, the mountains. You can see them if you climb to the top of the fence." Stoneclaw gestured with his tail into the trees at their right

Nightpaw flicked his ears nervously. "Is the camp totally...destroyed?" His throat was so dry that he had to swallow a few times so that he could speak.

A grave frown flashed onto Stoneclaw's face. He stared at the ground, his paws thudding rhythmically against the muddy earth. "Yes, Nightpaw," he replied despondently. His whiskers drooped. "The Twolegs came with their monsters after we ran, and half the camp lies in shambles already. I don't doubt that the rest will be gone by morning."

Ice swept up Nightpaw's spine at Stoneclaw's glum words. He tripped and stumbled a little. His paws felt like huge stones, and his stomach was roiling uncomfortable.

"Gone?" he mewed. His voice sounded pathetically small and distant.

Stoneclaw heaved a miserable sigh and shook his great gray head. "I saw it all from the other side of the Thunderpath." He shuddered. "I almost ran out and tried to stop the monsters. Luckily Lightsky was there to call be back to my senses. It was the most awful thing I've ever seen."

Nightpaw grimaced, picked himself up, and followed Stoneclaw as he leaped across a large puddle. Suddenly, LightClan scent struck the roof of Nightpaw's mouth, and both he and Stoneclaw stopped, lifting their muzzles into the air.

"Turtlestar!" they cried in unison. A relieved smile lit up Stoneclaw's face as he surged forward.

Turtlestar was crouched with the rest of LightClan in a small hollow at the edge of the Thunderpath. He looked up at Stoneclaw and Nightpaw emerged from the undergrowth.

"Stoneclaw! Nightpaw!" the cry was taken up all through the crowd.

"Ah, I am glad to see you both," Turtlestar meowed as they approached. "Stoneclaw, it's good to see you alive. And Nightpaw, my son. Thank StarClan I haven't lost you."

Nightpaw glowed as they padded forward and touched noses with the leader. It was rare that Turtlestar mentioned Nightpaw's heritage, but it made him feel valued and appreciated every time.

"We left Jaywing, Lightsky and Rosekit a little ways down," Stoneclaw meowed as Turtlestar led them into the hollow. "Jaywing as a twisted ankle, and Lightsky is too tired to carry Rosekit anywhere. Oh, and Nightpaw dragged a rogue along as well. Says his name is Jasper and he's looking for his mate."

Recognition sparked in Turtlestar's eyes, as long with a guarded amusement. "I'm glad, then. I was afraid that Jaywing and Lightsky were lost to us." Turtlestar disappeared for a moment, and then returned with Firetalon and Fawnheart.

"Firetalon, Fawnheart, I need you two to go collect Jaywing and the others. Firetalon, I think you'll find your mate there as well."

Firetalon's face lit up, and she dipped her head hurriedly to hr leader before bounding off into the bushes.

Turtlestar stared after tem for a moment, and then turned back to Stoneclaw and Nightpaw. "I'm afraid it's not much," he meowed, gesturing at the hollow behind him, "But it protects us from the wind."

Stoneclaw nodded, and was about to pad away, but then mewed hesitantly, "Is everyone here?" There was a sad urgency in his tone that made Nightpaw's ruff bristle. He hadn't considered that any cat might have…might have…it was too wretched to think about.

For a moment Turtlestar didn't reply, and then he meowed, "Firefeather is dead."

Stoneclaw hung his head, and his tail fell between his legs. Nightpaw had never seen his mentor so grim in all his life.

"She will be sorely missed," the dark gray tom meowed somberly.

"Yes. I dread sending a message to DarkClan with that news," Turtlestar muttered.

Nightpaw stared at him, frowning. "Why would you send a message to _them_?"

Stoneclaw gave his apprentice an uncomfortable glance, but said nothing. Turtlestar blinked and meowed simply, "Coldheart is Lightpaw's father."

"More half-Clan cats?" mewed Nightpaw with a hint of a sneer, but his heart was beating rapidly in his chest. _Moonpaw. Like Moonpaw and I._

The leader's eyes sharpened, and he cast a piercing stare at his son. "No cat can choose who they fall in love with, Nightpaw. It's not Firefeather's fault, nor Coldheart's. I would have every one of my warriors stick to the warrior code, but who am I to go against StarClan's will, if they take a cat in another Clan as their mate? I am no one to step between two cats who love each other."

Relief swelled in Nightpaw's chest, almost erasing his panic, but not quite.

"Should I call the elders to bury Firefeather?" Stoneclaw meowed after a moment of thoughtful silence.

Turtlestar nodded. "Though I wish it weren't so."

"I think every cat here wishes today had never happened," Nightpaw murmured bleakly.

Turtlestar nodded, his eyes cloudy with grief. "It is indeed a dark day for LightClan." He gave a grim laugh at the pun, and then whirled about and loped back to the hollow.

"I've found out more about my Clan today than in my entire lifetime put together," Nightpaw snorted as Turtlestar's tail disappeared into the shadows.

There was little emotion in Stoneclaw's hoarse voice, as he meowed, "On a day like today, there are no secrets among us anymore."

"Please don't tell me that you have kits in DarkClan," Nightpaw mewed quickly, a glitter in his eye.

Stoneclaw looked away. "No, Nightpaw. But now is not the time for jokes." He cast his gaze at the sky for a moment, and then stalked away, his steps tired and heavy. Nightpaw sighed, and followed a little behind. The shadows were creeping up around him, and he would feel better among his Clanmates again.

"Nightpaw!" came a bright meow. He lifted his head and searched for the source of the greeting. Flamepaw was marching towards him, Dawnpaw trudging in her wake. "I'm so glad we've found you. I thought maybe a Twoleg had gotten you."

Nightpaw shook his head disdainfully. "I could outrun ay of those stupid hair-less fox-brains any day. They can barely run as fast as a badger, and I'd bet al the mice in the world that I could outrun one of them."

"Brave words," mewed Dawnpaw scathingly. She shot a glare at Nightpaw before turning away with a snort. "You're not fast enough to beat me, anyway, and I run like a lopsided rat."

Nightpaw raised an eyebrow, but with a huge amount of effort, resisted the temptation to challenge the pessimistic she-cat.

"I have to go make sure the kits are okay," Nightpaw lied. "But maybe I'll race you later." He scurried away before they would have the chance to convince him.

Lightsky and Firetalon had returned already and were seated with the elders in the lowest part of the little hollow, most sheltered from the wind. Rosekit and Black-kit, the only kits in LightClan at the moment, were both asleep.

"Lightsky, Firetalon, how are you?" Nightpaw asked as he approached them. He immediately noticed that Jasper was seated protectively next to Firetalon, with his daughter curled between his front paws. Nightpaw lip curled in distaste, but he didn't comment on it.

"Hello, Nightpaw," mewed Lightsky. Her kit, Rosekit, was nestled against her belly. Nightpaw knew that Rosekit wasn't really Lightsky's daughter. The small creamy-white she-cat was the daughter of two rogues. Her half-brother, Cloud, had taken her to be raised in LightClan when their parents had abandoned the two young cats. Nightpaw had never met Cloud, but Turtlestar always said that he thought the white tom would make a good warrior.

"What a terrible day for LightClan…" Firetalon sighed, her eyes downcast. Jasper restlessly swiped his tail over her flank, his eyes jumping around the hollow nervously.

"Have you ever considered joining LightClan, Jasper?" Nightpaw asked suddenly. He didn't really approve of rogues joining LightClan, or even half-Clan cats. (He thought guiltily of Moonpaw, but dismissed the consideration quickly.) But, despite that, there was something about Jasper that made Nightpaw think he might make a good warrior. Besides, with Firefeather gone and Dawnsdust injured, LightClan could use all the strong warriors it could get.

Firetalon's head jerked up, her eyes fiery. Jasper flinched as if Nightpaw had struck him, and his whiskers quivered.

"I did think about it, once," he murmured, with a sharp glance at Firetalon.

"I tried to persuade him to come to LightClan after Black-kit was born," Firetalon explained icily. Nightpaw realized he had hit a sore point between the two cats, but he was still curious. "He said no…the life of a rogue _suite_ him, apparently." Firetalon blinked rapidly, and looked away.

Jasper sighed. "I've always been frightened of large crowds. I was in a pound once –" he stopped at Nightpaw's confused expression. "It's a place where they keep lost kittypets so their Twolegs can come and pick them up. Anyway, I was stuck in one once because the Twoleges though I was a kittypet. It was awful, and I've never liked being with lots of cats after that. I just didn't want to be in the same situation in…in…the Clans."

Nightpaw rolled his eyes. "I don't think LightClan is anything like a pow-und. We're nice to each other…er…I mean, we aren't a bunch of lost kittypets, we're honorable warriors with a code and rules and other…things…" Nightpaw found it hard to explain Clan life to a cat ho had never experienced it. He'd always been part of a Clan. His father's father, mother's mother, mother's father's uncle's nephew's father had been a LightClan warrior. He couldn't think of living life any other way.

Jasper gave him a sideways glance, then heaved another heavy sigh. "There's nothing I'd love more than to be with Firetalon and Black-kit every day, and catch prey for them and fight for them…but it's a big decision, one that's hard for a rogue to make. You probably don't understand."

"No, I don't," huffed Nightpaw.

"I'd like to catch a wink of sleep, if you don't mind," Lightsky murmured, interrupting their conversation. All three cats looked over at her in surprise, forgetting that the pale golden queen had been listening to their entire conversation.

"Sorry, Lightsky," mewed Firetalon. Her voice was still cold. The red queen nodded to Nightpaw and then lay her nose on the ground. The black apprentice figured this was as sure a sign of dismissal as any, and he turned to lope away.

"Nightpaw, wait," hissed Jasper. The black tom scuttled to his side, his eyes glistening. "You know, I'd really love to be a part of the Clans. I've given it a lot of thought since I first turned down Firetalon's offer when Black-kit was born. If what you say is true, and I know in my heart that it is, I wonder if you could talk to Turtlestar for me. I've heard that he's a good, trustworthy cat. Maybe I'll be a Clan warrior after all."

Nightpaw grinned in spite of himself. "Sure," he meowed. "Turtlestar's my father, I'm sure he'll listen to me."

Jasper looked surprised. "Your father, really? I should've guessed."

Nightpaw glowed with the comment, and turned to leave, but Jasper stopped him again. "I know this other rogue, Cloud, who might be interested as well. He has kin in LightClan too. If I can get a moment to leave Firetalon, I could bring him with me when I return. I know that Turtlestar has offered a place in the Clan to him before as well. Maybe, if I'm joining, Cloud will join too. I'm sure we'd be able to fit in. Cloud's the best hunter I've ever met – maybe Turtlestar will actually find some use for us."

Nightpaw's smile grew, and he dipped his head to Jasper. This was the best, most exciting news he'd heard in days. Two new warriors for LightClan! And he was beginning to like Jasper, however annoying he had seemed at first.

"I'll talk to Turtlestar as soon as I can," he meowed, and then bounded off, feeling considerably more cheerful.

--0000--0000--

Dawn was jut spilling over the tops of the trees when Nightpaw awoke, stiff and cold. He stretched for a long time, and then lifted his nose to the air. Immediately he was hit with a wave of an unfamiliar scent. _DarkClan!_

"Stoneclaw!" he cried, catching sight of the dark gray deputy marching along the side of the Thunderpath. The tom whirled and loped over.

"Nightpaw! Your up early," he said teasingly. "What is it?"

"Is there a DarkClan cat here? Rogues was enough, but an enemy warrior…"

Stoneclaw smiled a small, slow smile. "There's a patrol here sent by Tigerstar to bring us home. It seems they just received the news that our camp is completely destroyed. They're in a bit of a fix, I have to say. Poor cats."

Nightpaw's lip curled. "Why'd Tigerstar send a patrol? Does he think we're helpless kits? We can take care of ourselves."

Stoneclaw shook his great head gently. "Tigerstar's not being rude. Besides, we could use fresh paws to help us scout out the surrounding area. Don't turn up your nose at a good thing, however much it stings your pride."

Nightpaw nodded, and followed his mentor with a sigh. Turtlestar, Littleleaf, Glazerock and Sablemask were gathered in a circle around a group of four DarkClan cats. Frostfoot was with them too. Turtlestar had sent her to the DarkClan camp as soon as the Twolegs had appeared. It looked like the DarkClan medicine cat had already treated her wounds, but Nightpaw could still see that she was limping as Littleleaf escorted her to a clump of nettles were piles of herbs were already heaped.

"Ah, Stoneclaw, you're here," meowed Turtlestar, with a brief nod to Nightpaw.

"What have these cats got to say?" meowed the deputy. His voice was still hoarse and sad.

"Tigerstar sent us to help, since it seems the whole LightClan camp has been trampled," meowed a light golden tabby she-cat. She was surveying the LightClan warriors like they were pieces of prey, making the fur lift on Nightpaw's neck. "I suppose you'll have to find a new home."

A feeling akin to diving into an ice-cold river washed over Nightpaw at her words. He hadn't really considered the consequences of the Twolegs' attack on LightClan's camp. He'd always supposed they might just go home and it would magically be okay again, and the Twolegs would leave, or maybe they'd have to move a few sticks and pick a different hole for the elders' den. Finding a new home definitely wasn't what the apprentice had in mind.

"We can't do that!" Nightpaw blurted out, his whiskers trembling. Turtlestar glanced sharply at him, but he just stuck out his chin and stared back, blue eyes ablaze. "LightClan have always lived in the Horseplace. The Twolegs can't force us out!"

The golden tabby she-cat gave Nightpaw sad smile, and mewed, "Twolegs don't understand that you lived there. They haven't got very big brains, inside their heads." Nightpaw gave an indignant snort – the DarkClan queen was talking to him like he was a small kit.

"Nightpaw, our home is destroyed. Rainwhisker-" Turtlestar gestured to a dark brown and black tabby, "tells me that the Twolegs came with their monsters just before dawn and crushed what was left of the Horseplace. Now they're bringing in even more monsters, and stacks of wood. I think they mean to build a new Horseplace there. It's not LightClan's home anymore."

Nightpaw gaped at him, uncomprehending. Stoneclaw hesitantly swiped Nightpaw's shoulder with his tail, trying to reassure him, but the apprentice flinched away. "How can they do that?" he whispered miserably, searching his father's face. Turtlestar looked at him for a moment, his expression guarded and apparently motionless, then flicked his ears and turned back to the DarkClan cats.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" meowed Rainwhisker calmly. Nightpaw liked this cat – he seemed like one who would always do the right thing.

Turtlestar nodded swiftly. "There is much to be done. We have to find a new home soon, or at least somewhere where we can spend some moons in comfort. Not to mention fresh-kill."

Rainwhisker dipped his head, then turned to his fellow DarkClan warriors. "Darkmoon, take Greenpaw and hunt. If you can find any LightClan warriors strong enough, bring them with you." The two cats that he had addressed nodded and loped away.

"Honeyheart and I can help you find a camp, temporary or no. I think it would be best to return to your territory. It would make no sense for LightClan to live outside it's boundaries," Rainwhisker meowed.

Stoneclaw grunted. "Of course we're going back to the lake. I'd never live so close to a Thunderpath anyway."

Rainwhisker nodded slowly, and then rose to his feet. "If there are any of your warriors that you would like to come with us, Turtlestar, I think it would be best. We do not know your territory so well as you."

"A good thing, then," mewed Turtlestar with a slight smile. He padded to the hollow for a moment, and to Nightpaw's surprise, returned with Jasper.

"Stoneclaw, Glazerock, and Jasper will accompany you. I trust them all, and they are strong enough."

Rainwhisker's eyes flickered as Turtlestar introduced the black rogue, but he said nothing. Jasper seemed to glow at Turtlestar's words, and turned to Nightpaw with a huge smile. _Thank you_, he mouthed. Nightpaw was about to reply and say that he hadn't done anything, but he decided against it.

"Report to me at sun-down," Turtlestar meowed. "And let StarClan guide you, my friends. I hope with all my heart that LightClan can recover from this terrible affair."

Nightpaw sat still and silent, his heart heavy with dread, and watched as the group disappeared into the brambles, their paws kicking up little puffs of golden dust into the pale, dismal sky.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

**Whoa, deepness…**


	15. Chapter 15

Here's the next chappie, from Moonpaw's POV

**Here's the next chappie, from Moonpaw's POV. Sorry this took so long, I have been unimaginably busy for the past few days. Wow, I can't believe this is chapter 15 already, it seems like the story has been pretty short. Hmmmm…that calls for some action, I think. Let's see…**

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

The next day was anxious and incredibly boring. The cats that had been sent to Green-pelt place had returned with news that the Twolegs were nowhere to be seen in that area. The cats that had been sent to help LightClan had not returned, and there had been no word of their whereabouts or actions. Tigerstar sent patrols around as usual, though every cat knew that it was only out of habit, since there was no threat from LightClan warriors after the shocking tragedy of the past night.

Moonpaw had nothing to do except pace, hunt, eat, pace, and pace some more. Since Brightpaw had returned to camp soon after the sun rose, the two she-cats spent a few hours battling half-heartedly in the weak sunlight. It was one of those days that seemed to drag on for four times longer than a normal sun-cycle.

After a pathetically unproductive training session with Lunarpaw and Nightsky, Moonpaw returned to camp, barely dusty and still full of nervous energy. Since so many cats were still gone, the camp was empty and lacked the usual energy. The fresh-kill pile was remarkably large, since the warriors who had stayed in camp had nothing to do but hunt.

Lunarpaw and Brightpaw settled down by the Wide Tunnel, sharing tongues and speculating about what might become of LightClan. Moonpaw grabbed a scrawny mouse and joined them.

"If they have to leave, we won't have anyone to battle against," Brightpaw mewed sulkily. "We wouldn't even have to learn fighting moves if there's no enemies to use them against."

"Oh come on, Brightpaw, that'd be the least if our worries if LightClan is really one," Lunarpaw retorted, cracking a flea absentmindedly between his two front teeth.

"If LightClan is gone," meowed Moonpaw, thinking with a cold shudder of Nightpaw, "DarkClan would probably fall apart. Think about it. With no one to fight for prey against and stuff, we could all just become rogues and live as we pleased, with or without the warrior code."

Brightpaw gave her startled glare. "Live without the warrior code?" she cried incredulously. "Why?!"

Moonpaw cringed away, shame-faced. "Well, I don't know, I was just thinking…I mean, we could hunt for ourselves, since there's no other cats competing for prey. We could live wherever we want, and so we wouldn't have to, or maybe even be able to, protect our Clanmates from danger. I mean, I guess there wouldn't even _be_ danger, except for foxes and badgers and hawks, maybe."

Lunarpaw stared at herm his eyes round. "But I _like_ having a Clan!" he protested.

"I know, I know," Moonpaw mumbled. "It was a stupid idea, whatever…"

The other two apprentices turned away, their tails twitching.

"I wish we could do something," Lunarpaw groaned a moment later. A group of kits – Moonpaw recognized them as Hollykit, Stormkit, Lark-kit and Wildkit, Tigerstar's kits – came bounding over, enjoying their freedom on the slow, action-less day.

"There isn't anything to do," Brightpaw reminded him again in a bored voice, swatting gently at Lark-kit's flank. The little kit hissed and attacked Brightpaw's paw, who jumped back, surprised.

Moonpaw laughed as her friend quickly composed herself, giving her chest fur a few embarrassed licks as the kit sprinted away, shrieking with laughter.

"Yes, I know there isn't," Lunarpaw continued, watching the whole scene with a tired expression, "But I _wish _there was."

"Wishing won't get you anywhere," meowed Berrytail, the kits' mother, who was watching them through half-closed eyes. A warm smile lit up her face, and she blinked wide blue eyes as they all turned to look at her. "You'll have to get up and find something to do yourselves, instead of sit there all day like cranky elders, always complaining."

Brightpaw was gazing at her intensely, and nodded with a thoughtful expression. The golden she-cat then turned back to her friends, a mischievous light in her eyes.

"Oh StarClan," Moonpaw groaned. "I know that look, and my answer is no, Brightpaw. I don't need trouble right now!"

Brightpaw grinned, exposing glittering white fangs. "Just one little adventure. It's not like we're doing anything terribly important right now anyway. Look," she gestured at the warriors who were lazing around the camp, "they've forgotten us all anyway."

Lunarpaw looked nervous, and he rose to his feet, his whiskers quivering. "I don't know what you've got in mind, Brightpaw, but I don't want any part in it. There's enough going on as it is, and I'm sure Tigerstar doesn't want to have come rescue us from a fox right now."

"Don't be such a kittypet, Lunarpaw!" Brightpaw taunted him. Her blue eyes were shining now as she hatched some exciting plot in her mind. She turned to Moonpaw. "You'll come, won't you?" she mewed.

The silver she-cat hesitated, her fur standing on end. As much as she didn't want to get into any trouble, one tiny venture into the woods or something couldn't hurt. After all, Brightpaw was right – it wasn't like they were needed around camp at the moment.

"Alright, I'll go, but nothing too wild, Brightpaw, and we better be back before nightfall."

Brightpaw's smile widened. "Sure, sure, whatever. How about you, Lunarpaw? Still staying out? We won't wait up for you, you know, it's now or never?"

Lunarpaw hesitated, his expression fearful. Finally, he mewed in a hoarse whisper, "Okay, I'll go, but" – his voice rose an octave – "not very far! I _do not_ want Tigerstar to think I had any part in this mouse-brained plan of yours!"

"Great!" Brightpaw mewed, her tail sticking straight up and waving back and forth happily. "Lets go!" She turned and march straight down into the black mouth of the Wide Tunnel.

Moonpaw stood there for a moment, speechless. _The tunnels?! What was Brightpaw thinking! Apprentices weren't allowed in the tunnels without a warrior to accompany them! Besides, as apprentices, they hadn't been shown the secret paths that lay hidden under the ground. The whole thing had been designed to confuse nay cat who didn't already know exactly where they were going and how to get there. They might never find their way out!_

"StarClan, no!" Lunarpaw gasped, backing away. "Brightpaw!" he cried, "Not in there!"

After a quiet second her head popped out of the shadows, a frown on her face. "What, scared?" she growled, her eyes glittering. "Oh, come on you cowards! It's not like you're dropping to your deaths down here. I mean, what, do you have some LightClan blood in you? Are you afraid of the dark? Afraid of the big scary monsters who are coming to eat you?" she teased.

Moonpaw sighed and strode boldly past her brother, past Brightpaw, and into the darkness. It was cool and silent, strangely calming after the pale, white sunlight and the unending boredom of the surface. She could see Brightpaw arguing with Lunarpaw, surrounded by a halo of pallid radiance.

Finally, Brightpaw backed down the tunnel, and to Moonpaw's delight, Lunarpaw followed reluctantly behind her.

"This is SOOOO cool!" Brightpaw hissed, charging down into the blackness of the tunnel.

"Brightpaw, slow down!" Moonpaw cried after her, her heart beginning to beat furiously in her chest. "We don't know where to go!"

She and Lunarpaw got up with the she-cat a moment later. The mouth of the tunnel was now just a small circle of light, far behind them, and the path before them was black as the night sky, but no Silverpelt guided them here.

"Kind of – kind of creepy?" squeaked out Lunarpaw, pressing close to Moonpaw's flank as they descended into the tunnels. So far this was the only direction they could go in, but it was only a matter of time before they had to choose a path, and then Moonpaw knew that the fear would catch up with her.

"I like it down here," Brightpaw meowed excitedly. Moonpaw could scent her padding in front, but she couldn't even detect the outline of the she-cat's body. Still, the darkness and the weight of the earth above her was no more frightening than the vast expanse of blue sky that stretched out even farther above. In fact, the cold, drafty passageway was even somewhat soothing, and Moonpaw began to relax the further and further they went. Soon, there wasn't even a speck of light behind them anymore. Lunarpaw whimpered nervously and buried his nose in her fur.

"Don't be a baby, Lunarpaw," Brightpaw murmured, but her mind was hardly focused on the apprentice's actions. Moonpaw could hear her quick breathing and light paw steps as she forged ahead.

Finally, the moment that Moonpaw had been dreading came. They reached a sharp turn in the tunnel, and suddenly she could taste the open space. There were not two, but three paths stretching before them. One went straight on, in the direction that they had been traveling, another led to what seemed to be a cave of some sort, and another wound away, heading down into the earth.

"Which one?" Brightpaw whispered breathlessly. Excitement and adrenaline rolled off her in choking waves.

"Let's turn back!" Lunarpaw moaned. His fear-scent was also thick in the air.

"No," Moonpaw meowed quietly. Her nose was now turned toward the three paths.

"This one!" Brightpaw called over her shoulder, hurtling to the middle path. "We'll just keep going the same way!"

"No!" Moonpaw cried, leaping forward and dragging Brightpaw back.

"Hey, what's with you?" the golden she-cat squeaked indignantly, wriggling out of Moonpaw's grasp. "Great StarClan, Moonpaw, get over it, it's just a tunnel."

But the silver apprentice wasn't listening. She wandered over to the tunnel that led to a cave. She wished she could remember how Tigerstar had gotten to the Great Cave on the night of Firestripes' warrior ceremony, but as hard as she wracked her brains, it wouldn't come to her.

"Moonpaw, what's going on? What're you doing?" Lunarpaw asked anxiously. Moonpaw snapped out of her reverie and looked back over her shoulder. She didn't realize that she had wandered into the mouth of the cave. Brightpaw was close behind her, puzzled but eager, and Lunarpaw hung back.

"I just thought there was something…" she trailed off, stepping farther into the cave. It was like a song, she mused to herself. _Like a song that no one is singing, and it's here in this cave waiting for the right cat to come along and give it a voice." _

"A song," she finished.

Brightpaw snorted. "A what? What in the name of StarClan is a song?"

Moonpaw blinked at her, startled. "A song. Singing. You know, a song?"

Lunarpaw frowned. "What are you talking about, Moonpaw?"

The she-cat hesitated, panic fluttering in her rib cage. "You don't know what a song is? Haven't you ever…you know, sung something?"

Brightpaw gazed at her, curious. "What, like this?" She threw back her head and released a blood-chilling sound, somewhere between a wheezing rasp and a battle cry.

"No!" Moonpaw stopped her quickly. Brightpaw snorted, covering up a giggle, and lashed her tail.

"Than what?" she scoffed.

"I, uh…" Moonpaw hesitated again. Finally, she sighed, "Never mind."

"Yeah, whatever. Let's go this way anyway though, I want to see this cave," Brightpaw meowed. She led the way through the entryway, and into the cavern. It wasn't huge, but it was certainly large enough so that they could reach up on their hind legs and try to touch it, and still be a few whisker's-widths away.

"Look, there's a stream!" Lunarpaw pointed out, some his fear evaporating as they explored the cave. The walls were damp and mossy, and a little trickling trail of water flowed down from the stone ceiling and across the gravelly floor. It had long since carved a little ravine into the ground.

"Let's follow it!" Brightpaw suggested suddenly. She was already halfway to the other end of the cave, padding alongside the water.

"I don't know, Brightpaw, what if it gets bigger and we fall in?" Lunarpaw mewed desperately.

"Never mind that." It was Moonpaw this time, brushing her muzzle reassuringly across her brother's shoulder. She was eager to go further into the cave. The Song seemed to be coming from deep within the earth, and it got stronger with every step she took along this odd path.

"Come on!" Brightpaw bounded ahead, her paws making clacking noises as she scrambled over the loose pebbles.

They marched onward, leaving the cave behind and entering a wide tunnel, with the stream always trickling comfortingly close to their paws, but not close enough or strong enough to get them wet.

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**Okay, this is sort of a random place to end it, but this chapter was going to be extremely long, so I figured I might as well split it up to gain as much time as I can in writing this. Sorry again about the long wait, I know how torturous it must be for you all. By the way, the Song that Moonpaw is talking about comes in in various places. Her warrior name is meant to be Moonsong (don't worry it's no secret or anything) so I decided to make up a little story to go along with it. Also, BTW, cats don't sing, so that's why Brightpaw and Lunarpaw don't know what a song is. Techinically they caterwaul, which isn't quite singing, but I'm sort of having Moonpaw be the first cat to actually sing, whether it's possibly or not.**


	16. Chapter 16

Here's chapter 16, the continuation of last chappie, with Moonpaw

**Here's chapter 16, the continuation of last chappie, with Moonpaw.**

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"It's like swimming," Brightpaw whispered into the blackness. "Like swimming through air, expect, I mean….black…" Her words echoed eerily in the damp tunnel.

The three apprentices were strung out in a single file line, their paws slapping monotonously on the smooth stone floor, their breath coming in short, excited gasps. It occurred to Moonpaw that it must be possible to run out of fresh air to breath down here, but as fear burned in her throat, she hurriedly pushed the thought away.

"W-where exactly are we going, Brightpaw?" meowed Lunarpaw nervously. His claws clicked softly as he shuffled along behind Moonpaw, his whisker quivering.

"How should I know?" Brightpaw snapped. "I've never been down here on my own before!"

"That's because it's not allowed!" wailed Lunarpaw miserably.

"Shhh, be quiet Lunarpaw," Moonpaw hissed.

Deep beneath the earth, the strange vibrations that the silver she-cat had picked up in the cave – the Song, as she had decided to call it – were louder than ever. It was like the stone was trembling under her paws, sending a humming through her that filled her throat with warmth that was nothing less than uplifting.

"I still think we should turn around before we get lost."

Brightpaw turned on Lunarpaw and bared her teeth in his face. Though the golden she-cat was practically invisible in the darkness, the anger that surrounded her like an aura gave a feeling to where she was.

"We told you to be quiet! Stop acting like sniveling kit, Lunarpaw! Great StarClan, grow a spine! Besides, I think I smell another cave. Don't you find this exciting at all?" Her anger evaporated at the prospect of further adventure, and she flicked her tail affectionately over Lunarpaw's ear. "Don't worry about it, it's probably only been a few minutes up top anyway. I bet they haven't even realized we're gone."

She let out a purr and went back to the lead, padding lightly through the tunnel.

"I'm not a kit," Lunarpaw growled half-heartedly at her back, but she either didn't hear or pretended not to notice. Moonpaw sighed and followed, nudging Lunarpaw in front of her so that she could keep an eye – or nose – on him.

"Yes! I knew I smelled a cave!" yowled Brightpaw a moment later. She bounded forward, and turned sharply to the left. Before them lay a vast underground river, surrounded by large shelves of smooth, damp rock. Light pierced the ceiling, and flooded down until is cast a pale blue glow on the rocks. It was hardly enough to see by, but Moonpaw blinked anyway, startled by the sudden ability to see.

"This is great!" cried Brightpaw happily, charging out of the tunnel. The river flashed swiftly past them, fed by little streams identical to the one that they had followed. It was strong enough to carry a cat, and probably deep enough, and yet it made almost no sound. Moonpaw was suddenly grateful for the light. If she hadn't seen it, she might have fallen right into the water.

"Look at that! There's a path, there, I can see light at the end!" Lunarpaw meowed breathlessly, scrambling out after Brightpaw. Moonpaw followed more slowly, relishing the throb of the Song that was ever stronger here. It seemed to fill her head like a blinding flash of sunlight, and yet there was none of the aching pain that came from staring up at the sky.

"Wow…" Brightpaw breathed. She was far at the other end of the cavern, and Moonpaw turned to see what she was looking at. Her own breath caught in her throat at the sight of a huge spur of rock, jutting out from the center of the river. It glittered like Silverpelt itself had come down to hang in a mist around the stone.

"Is it the Great Rock?" Lunarpaw asked quietly, padding to the edge of the river where the stone stood.

"No, it couldn't be," Brightpaw replied. Her golden fur shimmered slightly in the weird light cast from the sparkling boulder. "Tigerstar led us much further than that to find the Great Cave – besides, the Great Rock is bigger and there's a smaller one for the medicine cat and stuff. And I don't remember a river."

"Than what it is this?" Lunarpaw questioned. His black fur was as dark as ever, but it had a blue-silver tinge now.

"I don't know. It must be just some other…well, some old rock, I guess. I wonder if Silverpoool knows it's here?"

"Probably not, or we'd have heard about it from the elders when we were kits. I heard all the stories."

Brightpaw raised an eyebrow at him. "It wasn't hard to get here. They probably know about it, Lunarpaw. Don't you think so, Moonpaw?"

But Moonpaw wasn't listening. She bunched her muscles and leaped across the stream, her paws scrambling at the opposite edge. When she had pulled herself up, she turned to look back at her companions.

"Let's rest," she mewed, her voice distant.

Lunarpaw gave a heavy sigh and mewed, "I agree. After all that walking, I'm tired. I wouldn't mind a quick…er…nap."

Brightpaw glared at them both for a moment, and then shrugged and dropped to her belly were he stood, and curled into a tight ball.

"Why not," she murmured as she slowed her breathing. Soon, both Brightpaw and Lunarpaw were fast asleep. Moonpaw sat at the edge of the river for a long time, listening to the rhythm of their breathing and the rhythm of the throbbing Song in her paws. Finally, with a flicker of her ears, she rose to her feet and leaped again, this time landing squarely at the top of the boulder. For a moment, she tipped sideways and it seemed that she might fall, but then she righted herself and dropped flat against the cold glittering stone.

"I know you're here," she meowed softly into the air, her blue eyes shining as she stared into space. "I know you've been watching me this whole time. Please, can you tell me about the Song?"

Silence reigned for a few moments, broken only by the wheezing of her brother and friend, and the distant whistle of the wind through the hole at the top of the cave. Then suddenly, in a murmur like the ripple of a stream, a thousand voices that seemed to emanate from a single starry throat, poured into Moonpaw's head.

_Welcome, Moonpaw of DarkClan. We have waited long to speak to you._

The silver she-cat shuddered and quickly snapped her eyes shut, turning her focus inward as she concentrated on the disembodied voice.

_How do you know me?_ She answered it.

_We know every cat_, whispered the voices.

_Why can I feel the...the Song, when the others can't?_

There was a noise like birdsong, twittering and echoing through the cavern for a few seconds. It took Moonpaw a moment to realize that the voices must be laughing. Her pelt grew hot, and she squeezed her eyes even tighter, as if it would drive away the embarrassment.

_Do you mean the Starsong? There is little that we can tell you of its origins, Moonpaw. The Song was here long before cats inhabited this land, and it will remain here forever, to guide those who walk the dark paths._

_What do you mean? It guides those who walk the dark paths…the cats who control the tunnels?_

_Control the tunnels? No cat controls the tunnels. We gave DarkClan the gift of black-sight because they discovered our world first. _

Silver fur on end, Moonpaw suddenly flicked open her eyes. But instead of the dark cave, she was met with a vast forest, with towering black tree trunks that seemed to stretch forever into the purple sky. Standing in a perfect circle around her stood a group of cats, whose pelts seemed to be sprinkled with stars.

_StarClan?_ Moonpaw guessed, shivering.

There largest cat, a handsome gray tabby with wide amber eyes, stepped forward. He dipped his head to her, and Moonpaw reflexively nodded back.

_We walk their skies, yes, but we are different,_ the tabby tom replied. This time, he spoke with a single voice, deep and vibrating and with an intense power that nearly knocked Moonpaw off her feet.

_Why have you taken me here?_ She questioned nervously. _Is this a dream?_

The tom smiled, and shook his head. _Your body does not move, but what you see is as real as the stone that your paws rest on at this very moment. And you are more real to us than anything here._

_Why did you bring me here? _Moonpaw asked again, more forcefully.

This time, a sort of sad looked came into the tom's eyes. He glanced back at his fellows. Another cat now came forward, a long-furred orange tabby she-cat.

_Welcome Moonpaw. My name is Sunfire. Though you may not know us, we know you well. Come, walk with us, and I'll explain. This is Cloudbringer. You may call us the Singers, if you wish, but it is only a usename, and of no consequence._

Confused, and slightly frightened, Moonpaw took a hesitant step forward. Sunfire padded toward her, and urged her onward, without touching a hair on her pelt. Moonpaw got the feeling that to touch one of these star-cats would be a fate worse than death.

_There is far too much knowledge to convey it all, but I will tell you what I can in the time we have. First and foremost, we _are_ StarClan. Don't doubt our sincerity. StarClan encompasses every cat that departs his or her world – every good-hearted cat, that is. The Singers are but a faction of the larger whole, with our own purpose and tasks to perform._

_Does that mean you have a task for me?_ Moonpaw meowed.

Sunfire shook her head. _ I will tell you in time, but not now. Would you be more comfortable if you could walk beside one of your own ancestors?_

Moonpaw hesitated. If she was here to stay, even for a while, she could always take advantage of the opportunity to meet a dead clan mate. But she shook her head, unwilling to disrupt this strange meeting.

_Very well_, Sunfire meowed. _Than I shall start at the beginning. Before DarkClan and LightClan, before Twolegs and rogues, before even StarClan, there was a Song. It created the universe, and all of the things in it. Now, the Song lives in the earth. For cats – we know very little of other species – there is one chosen in every generation to be the Keeper, or Singer, of the Song. Do you understand_? Sunfire meowed.

Moonpaw nodded slowly. _Yes, I think so. But does what the Singer do?_

Sunfire shrugged. _In reality, not much. But there is great honor in being chosen as the Singer. You learn the Song, and hold it within you, and explore it. It is like a medicine cat and their connection with StarClan, but the connection goes far deeper. At some points throughout history, knowledge of the Song itself is lost. But it never disappears. There is always a medicine cat gifted enough to discover it once again, and reopen the door to our world._

Moonpaw nodded again. _So it's like I'm a medicine cat, expect instead of learning herbs and dreaming with StarClan, I learn the Song and dream with the Singers._

Sunfire paused for a moment and gazed at Moonpaw. Then she twitched her whiskers and said slowly, _Yes, that is true. Are you so sure that you have chosen to be the Singer?_

Moonpaw froze, her mouth suddenly dry. _Er…_ she backtracked quickly. _I mean, no, I just thought, since you took me here to tell me, and I can hear the Song and everything…_

Her words seemed to bring up some sort of sorrow in Sunfire's eyes, and the she-cat looked away for a moment, lost in thought. Than she turned back and meowed, _Yes. What you say is true, and indeed, you have been chosen. Does this make you happy?_

_Well, I…_ Moonpaw blinked, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. _I suppose so. _

_Good,_ Sunfire nodded. _Because there is no backing out. _She said it with such finality that Moonpaw actually stumbled back a few steps.

Sunfire smiled again and began walking. _But you do understand. Good. There isn't much more to it, expect that as the chosen you must learn the Song and keep it within yourself, and use it for the good of your Clan whenever possible._

Moonpaw gaped at her. _How?!_

The sad look in Sunfire's bright eyes returned. _That you must learn on your own._ There was a sudden, clear yowl from somewhere within the forest. Sunfire dipped her head to Moonpaw and meowed softly, _We have no more time to speak with each other. Return to the Singing Stone as soon as possible, Moonpaw. If you are unable to, we will somehow find you. _

_But, wait!_ Moonpaw cried. Sunfire had turned and was striding quickly away into the forest. She paused for a moment, and looked back at Moonpaw, but then shook her head and suddenly disappeared.

Panting and fighting off panic, Moonpaw dropped to her haunches and stared around. Just as she was about go give up, she heard a sudden crashing through the undergrowth. The hair on the back of her neck prickled, and she got to her feet, backing slowly away from where the underbrush was waving.

A moment later, the huge tabby tom who had first greeted her leapt out from the ferns. He looked wildly around, until his gaze finally settled on her. He stared for a moment, and then his voice boomed out like a rockslide:

_Dark and Light face trouble, from the den and from the unknown. The Singer of the Song, the Speaker of the Voice, and the Seer of the Sight shall bring the end of the endless night._

Moonpaw stared into the deep amber eyes of the starlit tom, until he gave her quick nod and then evaporated into the thin air. A great chill went down Moonpaw's spine, and she cried out and closed her eyes, crouching down the cold, hard ground…

"Moonpaw! Moonpaw!" The voice seemed to be coming from far, far away. Moonpaw struggled to lift her head, but it was heavy and seemed to be frozen to the stone.

"Moonpaw, wake up! Wake up now, please!" The voice was sad, she realized. And desperately afraid. Moonpaw pulled harder, willing herself to move, to go to the voice and comfort it.

"MOONPAW!" someone screamed. Moonpaw jerked awake, flying to her feet and nearly slipping off the stone. It was dark now – the light from above had faded away. As she came to her senses, Moonpaw noticed two things at once: Brightpaw and Lunarpaw were at the mouth of the tunnel that led out of the cave, and that the stink of Twolegs permeated the air like smog from a forest fire.

Through the thickness of her mind, Moonpaw's instincts kicked in. She tumbled down from the stone and barely managed to grasp the edge of the river. Her hind legs plunged into the icy depths, but she heaved herself out and sprinted to where her friends wait.

"We tried to wake you up, but you were as still as a rock! Are you okay?" Lunarpaw mewed anxiously as soon as she neared them.

Water sprayed from Moonpaw's pelt, but she ignored it, and gasped out, "I'm fine. What's going on?"

Brightpaw hissed and spit, "There's Twolegs coming in through the tunnel. Lunarpaw saw them first. Their crawling on all four legs and they've got little suns on their heads.

"What?" Moonpaw mumbled, confused, but at that moment, one of the Twoleg-lights flashed in their direction, and the thing yelped and raised a hair-less paw to point at them.

"Run!" shrieked Brightpaw, clawing up the stone tunnel. Moonpaw and Lunarpaw followed suit, scrambling after her in their eagerness to escape the Twoleg. Two others of its kind crawled into the cave, and splashed through stream. For a moment, Moonpaw envied the ease with which they seemed to walk, and how quickly they covered the distance that had taken the cats twice as long to cross.

"Up here, through here!" Lunarpaw called down. The tunnel was getting narrower the higher they climbed, and was now sloping steeply upward, directed at a growing spot of light far ahead of them.

At first it seemed like the cats would make it, as they clawed their way farther and farther up the passage, but then the Twolegs dropped to their knees again and squeezed through the hole themselves, always just a fox-length behind. The strange dream still fogged Moonpaw's mind, and her paws seemed to move of their own accord as she recalled every detail with hungry desperation.

"We're almost there!" Brightpaw encouraged. It was true, but there was still enough time for Twolegs to catch up for them to relax.

Finally, Moonpaw heard Brightpaw yowl with relief as she burst from the tunnel. A moment later, she heard Lunarpaw's own cry of gratitude. She looked behind her in dismay, to find the Twolegs and their blinding lights only a few tail-lengths behind her, reaching up with hideous hands and dragging themselves closer. She put on a burst of speed, but it was barely enough to get her to the rim of the tunnel. After an agonizing moment, Moonpaw tumbled out of the stone passageway and onto cold grass.

She looked around. They were at the edge of a clearing amidst a copse of short, scrawny trees. When she looked behind her, over the raised lip of the tunnel, she could see the vast DarkClan forest an impossible distance away.

A shot from one of the Twolegs brought her back to reality, and she leaped away form the hole, sprinting into the trees after Brightpaw and Lunarpaw. She caught up with them at the edge of the copse of trees. They sat staring out at the vast moor. Only a little ways away lay the Thunderpath that circled the edge of LightClan territory.

"Oh dear StarClan, Tigerstar will have our apprentice names for this," Lunarpaw was mumbling despairingly.

"Quiet," snapped Brightpaw, but fear scent wafted around her too.

They sat still for a moment, until Lunarpaw suddenly jerked up, his ears pricked. "I heard something," he mewed in a hushed whisper.

"And I smell something…LightClan cats!" Brightpaw replied.

They huddled closer, fearful of what the enemy cats might do to apprentices found in their territory, especially apprentices who had Twolegs on their tails.

"…I don't understand why Turtlestar picked _me_ to go with you and get some stupid, gross-smelling weeds to-"

"Will you shut up?"

The two voices were coming from behind the copse of trees, and the three apprentices spun quickly, waiting for the two LightClan cats to appear. There was a pause, and then the first voice meowed, "Do you smell DarkClan?"

Moonpaw's heart gave a sudden, uncomfortable lurch as she recognized the voice. "Nightpaw," she choked.

"Huh?" Lunarpaw mewed, but it didn't matter, because a second later, the two cats entered the trees and came face to face with the DarkClan apprentices.

There were two of them, no larger than apprentices. One was a dark tabby with piercing blue eyes, and the other was an oddly speckled black and silver tom. He turned to face Moonpaw, and she flinched as his colorless eyes met hers.

The cats said nothing for a moment, startled. Or rather, it was mostly Moonpaw and Nightpaw who were startled. They stared at each other, whiskers trembling, until finally, the blind tom hissed, "What are DarkClan cats doing on our territory?"

"We aren't doing anything," Brightpaw spat back.

"We don't want a fight!" Lunarpaw squeaked nervously, glancing back and forth between the two dark toms. "We just got lost!"

"Lost? This far from your border?" the blind tom sneered.

"That's none of your business," Brightpaw meowed flatly.

Moonpaw was speechless as the two cats bantered back and forth. All she could do was gaze at the slender, night-black tabby tom who stood only inches from her. What else was there to do? She couldn't go to him. And then, she didn't have to, because Nightpaw came to her.

"Moonpaw," he whispered, and he took a few steps forward, and then some more, until he was right before her face, and then suddenly his muzzle was pressed against her shoulder, his tail curled above his head.

"I didn't know if I would ever see you again," she choked out, aware now that Lunarpaw and Brightpaw were staring at them, and Twilightpaw had a knowing smirk on his face.

"Most of us escaped the Twolegs when they attacked our camp, but they've been stampeding all over LightClan territory these days, and you never know when one might appear," Nightpaw replied, his voice hoarse.

"How's everyone else in LightClan?" Moonpaw mewed out of habitual politeness.

Nightpaw drew away for a moment to stare at her again. His gaze was sad, and there was a new sharpness to the way he searched her face. "Firefeather is dead, Dawnsdust is gravely injured, and Glazerock and Lightpaw are within inches of their lives after encounters with Twolegs. Lightsky got her foot stuck in a fox-trap and she can barely walk. As far as welfare goes, LightClan is in pretty bad shape." He gave a twisted smile. "This is the best I've felt all day."

Moonpaw managed a half-grimace of her own, and then she felt a sudden tap on her shoulder. She turned to face Brightpaw, who had a look of undisguised disgust on her face.

"What is this?" she hissed, glaring at Brightpaw. He glared venomously back, his blue eyes intense.

"Er…this is Nightpaw," Moonpaw mewed weakly, her throat tight.

"I realized. What I meant was – _what_ is _this_? What in the name of StarClan are you doing, Moonpaw?" Brightpaw's tail lashed back and forth in irritation.

Lunarpaw opened his mouth to meow something, but Brightpaw hushed him, still gazing challengingly at Nightpaw. The dark tabby tom drew himself up to his full height, which was barely taller than her, and growled, "I don't think it's any of your business."

Brightpaw hissed and shoved between them, pushing Moonpaw away from the LightClan tom, she grumbled in protest, but stayed where she was.

"It's entirely my business, _Nightpaw_! Moonpaw is my best friend, and I don't want her getting into any trouble because of you!"

"She won't _be_ in any trouble if you keep your trap shut!" Nightpaw hissed back, his composed countenance unfaltering.

"I won't! Tigerstar deserves to know about this! In fact, when I get back, I'll go straight up to him and yell it to the whole Clan! Great _StarClan_, Moonpaw, I thought you had a tad more sense than _this_!"

"Shut UP!" came a sudden screech. The three cats paused, startled, and everyone turned to face the small speckled LightClan tom who was crouched stiffly a few tail-lengths away. "Anyone would think you're a group of stupid gossiping queens the way you carry on! Besides, what StarClan allows is StarClan's will, right? So don't interfere. Jeez…" He flicked his tail in irritation and turned away.

"No one asked you," grumbled Brightpaw, but her anger had faded. Now she just stared sideways at Moonpaw with a disapproving glare as the silver she-cat pressed close to Nightpaw.

"So what exactly _are_ you doing so far into LightClan territory?" Nightpaw mewed, his voice still cold.

"We were…exploring," Lunarpaw replied nervously, casting a surreptitious glance back at the clearing where the tunnel mouth was.

"And we were chased by some…by some…" Brightpaw trailed off, and a sudden chilled silence filled the clearing.

Every cat's head turned to the tunnel. Beside it, a few fronds of grass waved lazily in a slow, cold breeze that drifted by.

"The Twolegs," hissed Lunarpaw, his voice hoarse with sudden fear. "Where id they go."

The blind tom gave snort of grim laughter. "They came out while you were arguing, and they've surrounded us in the trees. I think they mean to catch us."

Brightpaw's eyes bulged, and her pelt puffed out to twice its size. "WHAT?! And you didn't tell us this? Think it's funny if we all get squished to a pulp by Twolegs? What are you playing at, you mouse-brain?"

"Well, it's not like I care. Besides, I could probably get away," replied the tom matter-of-factly.

"MOONPAW!" came a horrified yowl. Moonpaw looked up in confusion, searching for the source of the sound, and then suddenly she saw a black shadow pass over her head, and turned to stare into the face of a giant Twoleg, it's skinny, claw-less paw reaching for her head. Too stunned to move or attack, she just braced herself, waiting for the Twoleg to smash her into the ground. But, instead of grinding her into the dirt with its long fingers, it wrapped them around her neck, all but squeezing the air from her throat. Gasping and wheezing, with her eyes bright and black with fear, Moonpaw was lifted into the air, swinging like a dead mouse from an owl's talons.

"MOONPAW, NO!" screamed Nightpaw wildly. He stared back and forth between her and the Twoleg who held her, his muscles tight with fear. Then he seemed to suddenly make up his mind and launched himself directly at the Twoleg's hand. The creature shrieked and brushed him away, still keeping a tight hold on Moonpaw's scruff.

"Brightpaw!" she managed to rasp out, while dangling helplessly above the ground. "Lunarpaw! Help me! Nightpaw!"

"M-m-m-moonpaw! G-get down from there!" shouted Lunarpaw, his voice thick with fear. His eyes were as wide as moons, and as black as pitch. He was bristled to three times his size, backing slowly away from the advancing Twoleg.

Moonpaw noticed, from her high perch, that the blind tom was crouched casually beneath a bramble thicket with a half-uncaring half-petrified look on his face. His sightless eyes flickered around crazily, as if searching for the right place to settle.

Another "Moonpaw, no!" filled the air, and Moonpaw could feel Nightpaw collide with her captor's arm. The Twoleg's grip merely tightened, and she strained around to find with horror that the monster had captured Nightpaw two. He was struggling and writhing like a snake in the Twoleg's grip, desperately attempting to sink his sharp fangs into the soft pink flesh.

And then, when Moonpaw was beginning to hope that maybe the other cats would come to their aid and then Twoleg would give up, its partner appeared in the side of her vision, and within a matter of minutes, had the blind tom and Lunarpaw by the scruff of the neck.

"StarClan! StarClan! Oh great StarClan!" Brightpaw was shrieking, poised on the verge of a leap, but seeming ready to run.

The Twolegs yowled something incomprehensible to each other, and then the one holding Moonpaw and Nightpaw, who had given up and now hung limp and defeated in the Twoleg's grasp, began to lumber away from the trees, heading down the hill toward the Thunderpath.

"Wait!" cried Brightpaw, bounding after them. She seemed to have finally worked up the courage to help the other cats. The golden apprentice bunched her muscles and leapt, soaring through the air. She collided heavily with the second Twoleg's hand, and he roared, releasing Lunarpaw, who dropped to the round like a stone and rolled.

The Twoleg continued yelling and cradling his hand, but he didn't try to pick up Lunarpaw or Brightpaw. And then suddenly, they had reached the Thunderpath, and the Twoleg crossed to a monster that was crouched on the side of the road. It was black and shiny and square, and Moonpaw's heart began to falter and patter wildly as the second Twoleg reached out his injured paw and drew aside a half of the monster.

Mumbling and spitting, the Twoleg's fiddled with the inside of the monster for a while, and then suddenly the three cats were lifted and tossed roughly into an open den that was surrounded by thick, shiny cobweb. Nightpaw hurled himself at his, hissing and growling, but it was no use. The Twoleg made a face at them, murmured something to his partner, and then suddenly they were plunged into darkness.

It took a few moments for Moonpaw to return to alertness. He heart slowed slowly to its original pace, if not a tiny bit faster, and she stared around searching for a sing of her companions.

"Nightpaw?" she mewed quietly.

"I'm here," he rasped in reply, and she suddenly felt his warm presence at her side.

"Twilightpaw?" he meowed.

"Here," hissed the blind tom from over in a corner. "Wherever here is."

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	17. Chapter 17

**Here's the next chappie (obviously) from Twilightpaw's POV. Ugh, I stayed home sick from school today, so if the first part of this chappie has a bunch of mistakes, please don't eat me, my brain is all fuzzy.**

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Twilightpaw was used to darkness; after all, he lived, breathed and drank darkness for every moment of his life that wasn't spent dreaming with StarClan, where was miraculously able to enjoy the full splendor of sight. But this darkness, however tediously normal it _might_ have been, was not the usual darkness. It pressed in on him, suffocating and noiseless, choking him and pinching his skin until he wasn't sure he could bear it any longer.

"Stop it!" he suddenly shrieked, flailing out with wild paws, reaching for something, anything, that he could hold on to drag himself out of the crushing black.

An answering yelp of surprise echoed in his ears, and for a moment Twilightpaw wondered if he was dead, and his own voice had bounced back to him from the invisible walls of whatever heaven he had ended up in. _Well, it would make sense_, he reckoned practically, shaking his head. _It would make complete sense._

But then the yowl sounded again, and this time Twilightpaw determined that it was not his own voice ricocheting back.

"What the -? Nightpaw? _Twilightpaw_?" came a spluttering cry. Twilightpaw cringed away from it, his breath slowly coming back as he resurfaced from the dark, his whiskers quivering.

"What's going on?" came a second growl, closer behind him. Twilightpaw whirled, disoriented, and lashed out reflexively with a sheathed paw.

"Ou- OUCH!" cried the second voice, and there was a clatter and a thud as something rolled away from him.

"Wh-where are we?" Twilightpaw managed to squeeze out. "Who-who are you? Where are you?"

"StarClan, Twilightpaw!" came a low oath. "It's me, Nightpaw, and Moonpaw! What the heck was that for? You just hit me across the face you mouse-brained, flea-ridden…" The voice trailed off into a string of insults, mumbled incomprehensively.

"S-sorry. Sorry," Twilightpaw whispered shakily. "I think I was dreaming, and then you woke me up, and…well, I don't know. I couldn't remember where I was."

"We were captured," mewed a softer, almost musical voice from behind him. Twilightpaw turned warily.

"Moonpaw?"

"Yes. The Twolegs, they've put us in the belly of their monster. I don't know where we're going, or why. But Nightpaw and I tried to get out – it's no use. These things we're in don't have openings."

"I'll bet they're taking us to the pow-uhnd," Nightpaw mewed in a low, ominous voice a few moments later.

"Huh?" mewed Moonpaw and Twilightpaw in unison.

"Well," Nightpaw began, with an arrogant edge to his voice, "I met a loner named Jasper – I think you met him Twilightpaw, Turtlestar might let him into the Clan soon – and he talked about how he had once been captured by Twolegs because they thought he was a lost kittypet. They put him in a monster and took him to this place called a pow-uhnd, where they keep lost kittypets so that their Twolegs can come and get them back."

"But we're not kittypets!" Twilightpaw hissed indignantly. "Are Twolegs blind?"

There was an uncomfortable silence, and Twilightpaw realized that the two other cats weren't sure what to say to that. "Er," he backtracked reluctantly, "Twolegs can't see past their noses."

The other two relaxed slightly, and Nightpaw mewed, "Maybe they aren't though. Maybe they won't take us their because they know we aren't kittypets."

"I don't think Twolegs know anything about warriors, Nightpaw," Moonpaw mewed quietly. There was a creak and the whisper of fur against metal as the she-cat shifted her position.

A low humming had filled the black den where they were kept – it rumbled through the floor and into their paws. Every once and a while, the monster would shudder and give a little lurch, at which point all three cats would hiss in fear and splay out their paws, gripping the slippery bottom of their prison with useless desperation.

"When is this going to end?" Nightpaw wailed after they had been stuck in the black belly of the monster for what seemed like years.

His words were barely out of his mouth before there was a giant groan and the monster came to a grinding, quaking halt. Moonpaw emitted a gasp of terror, and Twilightpaw felt her crouch down beside him, her whiskers trembling.

There was silence for a moment, and then a sudden bang, and the horrible darkness evaporated, returning to the normal, flat colorless landscape that was Twilightpaw's everyday view.

A Twoleg yowl sounded in his ears, and he braced himself against the panic that fought to overwhelm his system. He succeeded, just in time to brace himself again for when he suddenly felt the disturbing touch of a Twoleg paw, and he was swung into the air by the scruff of his neck.

With his paws dangling and nothing to step on, the fear finally drowned out Twilightpaw's senses, and he writhed and hissed in fear, trying to claw at the Twoleg. The huge creature shook him gently; then again a bit harder, and a third time, snapping his body back and forth until Twilightpaw was so dizzy he could barely draw in breath.

The other Twolegs murmured to each other, and Twilightpaw could scent Nightpaw and Moonpaw in their grips as well, both dizzy and limp.

With halting, jerking steps, the Twolegs moved, leaving the sickening, metallic scent of the monster behind them. Twilightpaw sucked in another breath, hoping desperately that it would bring the sweet scents of trees, grass, and maybe even warriors, but instead he met only a dull, woody scent, the stink of Twolegs, and the smell of dogs and cats as well.

"The pow-uhnd," he gasped out miserably, hoping Nightpaw and Moonpaw were close enough to hear his realization.

"Where they put lost kittypets," Moonpaw sighed. Her voice still seemed as calm and sweet as ever, and Twilightpaw marveled at how she managed to stay off the panic.

They were jolted along for what seemed like a few more fox-lengths, and then suddenly Twilightpaw's feet touched something cold and hard. He sank down gratefully, shivering, too tired and broken to move anywhere. A few seconds later, he felt Nightpaw's pelt brush his, and then scented Moonpaw beside him.

There was more banter between the Twolegs, who stood over them with their hands hovering only a few whisker-lengths above the cats' heads, in case they should attempt to escape.

Swallowing his pride, Twilightpaw asked tentatively, "What – what does this place look like?"

Nightpaw hesitated before meowing, "It's a big den-thing, with a dull-stone floor (a/n: **linoleum)** and square, dull-stone boulders all around the edges. At the back, there's a big opening, and in there I can see rows and rows of smaller dens, covered in shiny cobwebs. There's cats in some – and tiny dogs. Right now we're sitting on one of the dull-stone boulders, and there's Twolegs all around us, talking and waving their paws. It's the pow-uhnd, I bet you anything. It fits Jasper's description carefully."

"Jasper?" Twilightpaw mewed. "Oh, right – the loner you met. Well, uh…thanks for that."

"No problem" mewed Nightpaw grudgingly.

"Is there anything we can do? Should we run?" Moonpaw mewed softly.

The two other apprentices thought for a moment, and then Nightpaw meowed back, "Not that I can think of right now. Maybe something will come to us later."

Moonpaw sighed, and murmured something under her breath that sounded like, "If there is a later."

The Twoleg's mumbled conversation finally ended, and the creatures that had carried them in picked them up once again and carried them away. Nightpaw was giving a running commentary, but Twilightpaw wasn't sure if it was because the tabby tom wanted to help him, or if he was just making himself feel better by talking.

"They're walking into the long hallway now, with the dens on the sides. I can smell all kinds of cats everywhere – some of them smell like they've been to the cutter, and some of them even smell like us. We're going down the hallway now. There's an opening at the end – I wonder if they're taking us through."

But suddenly Twilightpaw could feel a shift in the Twoleg's step, and then he way swung by his scruff into the air. After what seemed a frighteningly long time, his paws collided with smooth, slippery stone. (**A/N: since can't see it, the plastic feels like stone.)**

As soon as he felt the Twoleg release its grip on him, Twilightpaw flung himself forward, ignoring all of the alarm bells that were clanging in his head. _I'll get out of here_! He was screaming to himself as he rushed forward. _If it's the last thing I do!_ But he had gone no more than a few steps before he crashed headlong into what felt like a tangled web of stiff tree branches. Hissing, Twilightpaw crumbled, his head spinning and his heart throbbing painfully.

"Twilightpaw!" cried a surprised voice. It was Moonpaw, and she seemed to be quite close.

"Uhn…ugh…Moonpaw?" he mewed, scrambling to his feet shakily. He swiveled his head, trying to pinpoint he source of her voice.

"Right next to you. We're in dens made of slippery stone stuff – yellow slippery stone stuff. There are these weird, shiny, hard cobweb things that close of the entrance. And we're all in dens on top of each or next to each other or beneath someone else. I'm on your right, and Nightpaw is on my right," Moonpaw meowed.

Twilightpaw tried to visualize it in his head, and the picture was enough to still his swirling thoughts.

"So it goes: me, you, Nightpaw?" he questioned, squinting hard to keep the picture from flashing away.

"Yes. I can't see you though – the slippery stone stuff isn't see-through or anything. But U can smell you, and if I try really hard, I can just barely see the tips of your whisker through the door of your den."

All of a sudden, another voice boomed from directly above Twilightpaw, "These den are called cages, and the slippery stone stuff is called plastic. The stone cobwebs are wires."

Twilightpaw jumped, his claws skittering on the "plastic".

"Who said that?" Moonpaw yelped.

"My name is Boar. I guess you could say I _was_ a kittypet. I was born in a Twoleg nest, but I haven't tasted kittypet food in a long, long time."

There was a paused, and then Nightpaw's voice floated up, "Are you a friend?"

There was a deep chuckle, and then Boar replied, "If you want me to be. There are plenty of us in here who could be your friends. I'll have them introduce themselves," he rumbled. Twilightpaw braced himself for a cacophony of meows, but there was none.

"My name is Bethany," came a delicate, high-pitched mew from Twilightpaw's left. "I'm Boar's daughter. I was born in the wild."

"Bethany could swat a crow from the sky if the idea struck her," praised Boar happily. "She's the best hunter you've ever seen."

Nightpaw gave a derisive snort, but said nothing.

"My name is Aira. Bethany's my sister, which Boar is my father too," came a second meow from Twilightpaw's right, also high-pitched, but stronger than the first. Bethany and Aira were probably in cages next to each other.

And then a final greeting sounded from below Twilightpaw, "I'm Caspian, Boar's son." Twilightpaw immediately felt like he would like Caspian – his voice was strong and level, and it made you think like whomever this cat was, nothing could make him afraid.

"You have three kits, then?" Moonpaw asked, trying to get things straight.

"Four, actually," Boar replied. "My third daughter isn't in the pound."

"And our mother, of course," Aira meowed. "Nightshade. She used to be a Clan warrior. She says that when she clears her name, she'll take us-"

"Hush, Aira!" Boar hissed.

An awkward silence fell between the seven cats. Finally, Moonpaw meowed tentatively, "I've heard people say her name before. She murdered Blacktail, our old deputy. I thought she was killed! Did she become a rogue?"

There was a sudden loud, furious hiss from beneath Twilightpaw's feet. His hackles rose, and he scampered to the back of the den, his whiskers quivering."

"_She didn't kill him!"_ Caspian shrieked, his paws battering at the wire door. "_They lied to her!"_

"Caspian! How could these cats know?" Boar scolded, but his voice was tight. "I'm sorry," he apologized, his voice directed at Moonpaw. "Caspian sometimes gets a bit over-obsessed with revenge."

Another uncomfortable silence ensued, until Bethany spoke up in her whispery voice, "Our mother was exiled from DarkClan many seasons ago. She was _wrongly_ accused of murdering her Clan deputy. Father forbids us to speak of it to any cat because he's afraid that the truth will reach her Clan, and that they will come and put an end to her life, once and for all. Personally, I think he's being terribly paranoid." She ended with a sniff, and Twilightpaw could feel a patter of paws next to his own cage as Bethany presumably rose to her feet and walked to the back of the "den".

"It's a delicate subject, for all of us," Boar explained, ignoring an indignant hiss from below. "We know that Nightshade is innocent, and _some of us_ think she needs to be avenged."

"I understand," meowed Nightpaw calmly. "There's always a black-hearted traitor in every Clan. Or at least, in stories."

"Do you think there's a black-hearted traitor in LightClan?" Twilightpaw mumbled under his breath for the first time.

"Hoho! So you're Clan cast, are you?" Boar meowed, interest seeping into his voice. "Please, you need to introduce yourselves as well."

There was a pause, and then Moonpaw hissed, "Twilightpaw, you first."

Twilightpaw flicked an ear, and then meowed, "My name is Twilightpaw. I'm the medicine cat apprentice of LightClan." Then he added spitefully, "I'm blind."

He waited for a sarcastic comment, or a voice dripping with false sympathy, but Boar only replied, "Pleased to meet you. I've heard a great deal about the wisdom of Clan medicine cats, though I don't understand much of it myself."

Twilight felt slightly put out. Maybe it was because he was so used to either of the two extremes – cruelty or sickening compassion, that he almost expected them now. Growling at himself, he pushed the troubling thoughts away.

"I'm Moonpaw, an apprentice of DarkClan," Moonpaw greeted them.

"And I'm Nightpaw of LightClan," Nightpaw meowed.

"Pleased to meet you all. Now, do you have any ideas on how to escape this infernal place?"

Twilightpaw blinked his sightless eyes, his ears twitching.

"Er…now?" Moonpaw questioned, taken aback.

"Well if not now, when?" Boar rumbled, laughing. "Now's as good a time as nay, before they take us all to the Cutter or we get carried off by Twolegs."

"Well…I mean, I suppose if we opened these…er…cages," Moonpaw suggested hesitantly. There was a rattle to his left, and Twilightpaw imagined her pushing vainly against the wire door.

"It's no use," Caspian's voice drifted from underneath his paws. "I've been trying the locks on the cage doors for ages – only Twolegs can open them. Or at least, they can only be opened from the outside, with a special key."

Many of his words were meaningless to Twilightpaw, but he understood "open from the outside" at least, which gave him an idea.

"If we could get some warriors to help us, they could open the cages from the outside!" It seemed perfectly reasonable to him.

"They need a key," Bethany whispered.

"And how do your propose we bring those warriors of yours in here, Twilightpaw?" Boar meowed. Twilightpaw could smell the frustration coming off him in waves.

"Nightshade, of course!" Twilightpaw mewed. "Or your other daughter, whoever she is."

It was quiet for a minute, and then Aira meowed, "Last time mother visited us, she said she'd be back in six moons. It's been four. And sometimes she's late. Who knows what might happen between now and then? Besides – I think only mother knows how to get in."

"Lia might know too. She's come before," said Aira quietly.

"Is Lia your sister?" Moonpaw asked.

"She's my younger daughter," Boar replied. "Bethany, Aira and Caspian were our first litter. Lia's brother died a few days after he was born. Poor Caspian here had to grow up with so many she-cats."

Caspian didn't laugh, and Twilightpaw got the feeling that this was a delicate subject in the little family.

"Oh well, we'll escape somehow, father," mewed Bethany, her voice sounding far away because she sat at the back of the cage."

"I know, Bethany," Boar sighed. "I just wish I knew when."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

**Kay, lots of new characters introduced and all. I think I might split the story at some point, between these three cats, LightClan, and DarkClan. Cause there's stuff going on everywhere right now, and all of my main characters are in the same spot. Dang. Well, we'll see, I guess.**


	18. Tangent Allegiances

**Just because a lot of that last chapter is confusing and stuff, I'm making allegiances/family trees for the main characters and our new friends. **

**And, just as a little-bitty note: Yes, I named Caspian (the cat) after Prince Caspian from the Chronicles of Narnia. And yes, I saw the movie, which is why I named him Caspian. And another yes - I loved the movie (especially Prince Caspian himself). Just in case you wanted to know…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors or anything, and I don't own Prince Caspian. Just to put it out there.**

**Clan cats (those who still belong to an organized Clan):**

**Moonpaw:** (DarkClan) silvery white she-cat with pale blue eyes

**Nightpaw: **(LightClan) small tom with night-black pelt, very dark gray stripe down his back, blue eyes

**Twilightpaw: **(LightClan) twilight black tom, silver patches, dark gray stripes on forehead, legs, tail, and chest, small silver-gray spots on paws, a little ways up legs and underbelly, silver-white/gray-white fur makes his ears and tail stick out. Also some white over nose and under eyes, fades to silver-white, then gray-silver, then dark gray then to black, blind. (by: San child of the wolves)

**Loners (those who do not belong to a Clan anymore, or never did):**

**Boar: **huge, muscular black tom with dark amber eyes. Nightshade's mate. Was born a kittypet but ran away when he was young. He lives around the Twoleg place. He is good-natured and almost always friendly, and not exceptionally bright, but very loving. (In the pound.)

**Nightshade: **skinnytortoiseshell and white she-cat, bright green eyes – was once a warrior of DarkClan, left after she was wrongly accused of murdering the former deputy, Blacktail. She is determined to clear her name someday, because she knows the true killer.

**Bethany: **thin, long-furred creamy white she-cat, dark green eyes. Nightshade's daughter from her first litter. An exceptional hunter, but slightly stuck up. (In the pound)

**Aira: **slender gray tabby she-cat, white paws and underbelly, pale amber eyes. Nightshade's daughter from her first litter. Has a very calculating mind, and prefers to keep mostly to herself. (In the pound.)

**Caspian: **slender black tom with bright green eyes. Nightshade's only son, form her first litter. Brave and loyal, but often tries a bit _too_ hard. Is obsessed with exacting revenge on the cats that falsely accused his mother of murdering Blacktail. (In the pound.)

**Cordelia:** small, long-furred black she-cat, dark amber eyes. Nightshade's daughter from her second litter. Very adventurous, but quiet. She likes to explore on her own, and the only member of her family that she gets along with well is her brother, Caspian.


	19. Chapter 19

**Here's the next chappie, sorry it's kind of late. I'm trying out Caspian's point of view right now because at the moment he's my favorite charrie. I'm sure it will change, but too bad. It switches to Coldheart/Snowheart later on – if this is confusing, just tell me.**

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o Caspian 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

___Cold wind whistled harshly across the moor. The shrill cry of a falcon or a hawk split the air as clouds rolled ominously over the sun. Suddenly, the brambles at the edge of a small copse of trees huddled on a low hill shook. A cat emerged, a pure white tom with glittering blue eyes. He peered around with an air of self-importance, and then padded a little bit away from the trees, his thick fur billowing in the gusts._

_Suddenly, as if from thin air, a slender tortoiseshell queen appeared before him, her pelt matted and her ribs poking through the skin._

_"Nightshade!" hissed the white tom, unsheathing his claws and crouching down, his tail lashing at the sight of the she-cat._

_Nightshade gave a startled jump, as if she hadn't seen him, and turned to stare at him with fearful, confused eyes._

_"What are you doing?" the tom growled. "You're in exile! You shouldn't be here!"_

_The she-cat stumbled backwards, but it seemed too late. The tom gave a mighty leap and hurtled towards her-_

Caspian awoke with a jerk, breathing hard, his paws clenched against the cold plastic floor of his cage. For a moment he still seemed to see the ferocious white tom, and his eyes were wide with sick fear, but them realization dawned, and the sparkle dimmed from his gaze.

"Caspian?" came a whispery murmur from somewhere above him.

The dark-furred tom paused a moment to catch his breath before replying sharply, "What, Beth?"

"Were you dreaming?" she asked.

"Yes!" he snarled. "And it's none of your business."

Bethany seemed mollified, but then a moment later she spoke up again. "Do you miss mother? And Lia?"

This question caught Caspian off guard, and he hesitated, his composure failing for a moment. "Sometimes," he replied, his heart clenching. He didn't like to admit it to anyone, lest they think it a weakness, but he missed his mother and younger sister painfully, and there wasn't a day that he didn't think about them. Lia was his best, if not only, friend in the whole world, and without her he had nothing.

"I miss them a lot," Bethany mewed sadly. "Father is alright, but mother was always so kind to us, and she taught me to hunt."

Caspian's lip curled in a sneer and he made no reply. Bethany's mind was relatively one-tracked – she could only consider one thing at a time. Usually it was her hunting skills, her pride ridiculously puffed up by their father. True, Bethany was a decent hunter, especially since she had had only the sparse education that Nightshade was able to provide, but Boar was excessively proud of her, and her head grew larger with every word of praise he spoke.

"We'll see them again in a day or two," he replied shortly, attempting to end the conversation.

"I wonder if Lia will be bigger than when we last saw them. She's always been rather small. Maybe it's because she's still a kit," mewed Bethany thoughtfully.

Caspian's lip curled again. "Lia's not a kit anymore."

There was a moment of silence, and then Bethany replied, "No. I suppose she isn't."

"Just go to sleep, Beth." Caspian gave his pelt a swift clean and then curled up again, shaken from his dream about his mother and the white tom. It was a 'story' that Nightshade had told her kits when they were little – about the coldhearted DarkClan traitor who had framed her after Blacktail had been mysteriously murdered. Though Nightshade had never told him the cat's name, it was Caspian's dream to exact revenge on the character of his nightmares.

"Okay. G'night Caspian," murmured Bethany in her whispery voice. Caspian wondered if she'd already forgotten what they had been talking about.

Trying to keep the same dream from coming back, Caspian focused his thoughts on the new additions to the pound – Moonpaw, Twilightpaw, and…Nightpaw. That was it. They seemed honest enough, though he wouldn't trust any Clan cats without getting to know them thoroughly first. Not to mention it would help to _see_ them. He'd never met a blind cat before, but he'd heard stories – about how their eyes were bright red and spun wildly in their sockets, or how they could smell blood from a mile away. He knew they weren't true, but he did half-wonder…

Finally, after enduring near a quarter of an hour of wandering thoughts, Caspian drifted off to sleep. When he awoke, it was light outside, and something was moving in the hallway.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o Coldheart 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Blood on my paws," growled the white tom. "Blood on my paws, and now nothing to show for it."

The three cats looked at each other in silence. Around them, the tall pines of DarkClan territory blocked out the sun, casting their hiding place into shadow. It was a tiny hollow near the edge of the lake, surrounded by a thick wall of ferns and brambles. One could only find it if they knew where it was, and how to penetrate the seemingly impenetrable barrier.

"We're working on it, Stripedleg," growled another white tom. His bright blue eyes raked over his companion's pelt. "Orchestrating a rebellion takes time, especially when we're against the crowd instead of with it."

"What is that supposed to mean?" growled a blue-gray tabby tom, crouched in a gloomy corner. His dark green eyes glared sullenly from the shadows.

"I mean," growled Snowheart, with a hint of arrogance, "that it's hard to overthrow a well-liked leader. It's not as if we have much support within the Clan."

All three toms glanced around at each other, their eyes flashing agreement.

Coldheart spoke up again. "Graythroat would join us, if he wasn't such a coward. Nightsky might be swayed, or Darkmoon."

"I don't think it's even worth trying," mewed Stripedleg resentfully. "Sometimes I don't even know why we bother with this."

The other two toms immediately bristled at his words.

"Would you rather I be deputy?" Coldheart hissed. "We didn't put you up there for _your_ benefit, if I recall. We worked to get you where you are now – somewhere I'd like to be just as well. Are you saying you aren't _grateful_?"

Stripedleg cringed away from the snarling toms, is eyes wide with fear. "No!" he growled back. "I'm not ungrateful. And you know I worked just as hard! Remember, it was _me_ who killed Blacktail, when you didn't have the guts, Snowheart."

A stunned silence followed his words. Snowheart's eyes shone with pain as he stared at Stripedleg. The deputy gazed back, uncertain, slowly inching to the edge of the hollow.

Coldheart gave a grim laugh. "That was low, Stripedleg. I didn't know you had that in you."

They all knew, though they didn't speak of it, that Snowheart and Blacktail, the former deputy, might have been mates had she not been in the way of their plans. It had been a hard decision for all of them, but in the end of course, ambition had won over heart.

Snowheart shook himself wearily and turned away. "That was a long time ago," he murmured, tracing a spotless paw in the mud.

"And I trust you haven't forgotten your promise, Stripedleg?" Coldheart asked, once Snowheart had regained his composure and Stripedleg had emerged from the shelter of the ferns.

The white-furred deputy nodded slowly. "Then when I am leader, you will be my deputy."

A feral grin lit Coldheart's face at the tom's words. "Very good. And then you will become leader of BloodClan, and I shall be leader of BoneClan."

There was a general nodding of heads. Stripedleg and Coldheart put their heads together and began to murmur something about how to go about luring Tigerstar away from his Clan. Neither tom noticed as their blue-eyed colleague slipped out of the hollow and into the cool, dim forest.

Snowheart slunk among the ferns, keeping his head low and his tail between his legs. Though his face was the perfect picture of calm and contentment, his mind was roiling.

"Silly fools," he murmured to himself, unsheathing his claws to enjoy the feeling of their sharp tips sinking into the mud at every step. "When they have succeeded in killing Tigerstar, I will expose them both as the mouse-brained murderers that they are. And then _I_ will be leader of DarkClan, and there shall be no cat to oppose me."

And so with a sly grin fading from his face, the huge white tom slipped through the bramble tunnel into the DarkClan camp.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Okay, so that might have gotten a bit confusin, but here's a little outline of it for you, and also to remind myself of where the heck I am in this story:

Coldheart and Stripedleg plan to kill Tigerstar and split DarkClan into two Clans, BloodClan and BoneClan, of which they will be leaders. Stripedleg is the true murdered of Blacktail. Snowheart will follow them until they accomplish the first part of their plan, and then expose them to the Clan and assume his "rightful" leadership.


	20. Chapter 20

**So I had some weird sudden urge to write more for this story…it won't go anywhere, I'm warning you, but I might take the initiative to just finish this story off. **

**0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

It was dark when Nightpaw's blue eyes flickered open. He lay as still and silent at stone for a long moment, his ears pricked, his whiskers straining in the blackness, trying to pick up on whatever had woken him up.

_Scree, tap. Scree tap._

There it was again. Nightpaw's heartbeat pattered a little bit faster.

_Screee tap tap. Rattle. Screeee._

Breathing hard, Nightpaw rose to his feet, his pelt bristling. The smooth plastic was cold and harsh under his pads, so used to the soft grasses and squelching mud of LightClan's territory. With a pang, thoughts of his home and his Clanmates came rushing back. He wondered if Turtlestar and the others had found a better place to stay yet, or if Jasper had a warrior name. But just as soon as the sorrowful memories came, they faded away, shattered by another eerie _Screee._

Unable to make out any shapes in the darkness, Nightpaw pressed his muzzle against the wire gate, his whiskers quivering as they tried to pick up any extra information. There was nothing – aside from the strange noise, everything was as quiet as the dead.

"Nightpaw?" came a quivering whisper from somewhere beside him.

"Moonpaw?" he mewed back quietly, trying to peer sideways through the wire mesh.

"Thank StarClan someone's finally awake!" the DarkClan apprentice sighed, but Nightpaw wondered if she was even more happy that it was him.

"How long have you been up?" he asked, forcing himself to sit down on the cold floor of the cage.

"I don't know – it feels like moons. That weird noise just started a moment ago though. You must be a pretty light sleeper," Moonpaw replied.

Nightpaw grunted. "I guess."

There was a moment of silence, and then Moonpaw mewed, "Do you think Nightshade is even going to come? If she doesn't, we'll probably become kittypets!" Nightpaw could smell her fear scent at the thought.

"Of course she'll come!" he meowed. He was about to add some more reassuring words, when suddenly there was a loud _SNAP_, and the apprentices heard something clatter to the floor at the end of the hallway. The room was suddenly lit by a shaft of pale moonlight, streaming from a hole at the bottom of the wall at the end of the hall. A second later, it was blocked out, and Nightpaw saw a shadow fall on the floor in the shape of a cat.

He could smell three new scents, and he tensed as the newcomers slipped through the hole and slunk down the hallway. He heard rustling all around – the noises had awoken some of the other cats.

"Nightshade!" came a hoarse meow from above him that he recognized as Boar. The other cats of Boar's family seemed to notice the three intruders now too, and a clamor of greetings arose all around him. The only voice he didn't hear was Caspian, although he could tell that the tom was awake.

"Boar! Oh, Aira, Beth – Caspian! But who are you all? You weren't here the last time I came!" The voice was distinctly female, and friendly. In the half-light, Nightpaw could make out a small tortoiseshell she-cat. Beside her was an even smaller, long-furred black she-cat, and a large white tom.

"Mother!" came Aira's sharp meow. "I'm so glad you're okay! And Lia – you look bigger." The little black she-cat sat up a little straighter and grinned.

"Give me one moment and I'll have you out." Nightshade mewed.

Curious, Nightpaw craned his neck to watch as the warrior trotted up to Caspian's cage, which was on the floor. She balanced back on her haunches and began pawing at the lock on Caspian's door.

"I thought it needed a key!" Nightpaw mewed in surprise.

Nightshade grinned. "Not the way I do it. I learned this from a rogue when I was first –" she glanced upwards, and then continued, "-exiled. See, I use my claws."

The small she-cat reached a paw into the air as if batting at a leaf, and Nightpaw could see that he had her claws unsheathed, and he was surprised to find that they were long and viciously curved, almost like a badgers. Then she leaned close to the wire door and inserted one long claw into a tiny hole. She rattled it around, her eyes sharp and intent on her work, until suddenly there was a little click, and the door swung slowly open.

There was a long moment of silence, and then a slender black leg extended from the dark cage, followed by Caspian's lithe shape. It was the first time Nightpaw had actually seen the tom, and he was surprised to realize that he was exactly as Nightpaw had pictured him. The black tom looked up at all of the other cages, then loped silently to the side of the long-furred black she-cat, whom Nightpaw now took to be Cordelia, the only kit from Boar's second litter.

Nightshade looked around at the other cages, and then moved on to Bethany's, which was beside Caspian's, on the ground. She fiddled with the lock as she had before, until the door swung open. Bethany came flowing out, and even Nightpaw, who'd never given much thought to it, had to admit that the she-cat was exceptionally beautiful. She had perfectly groomed, feather-like cream-colored fur, and when she turned to face the other cages he caught a glimpse of jewel-like green eyes.

He heard a snort from Moonpaw's cage, and felt his pelt grow hot as he wondered if the silver she-cat knew what he was thinking.

Next came Aira, who Nightpaw found out to be a slender gray tabby – once again, exactly as he'd pictured her.

Now, Nightshade was faced with the cages that weren't on the ground, and for a moment Nightpaw was afraid she might not be able to free them at all, and they would be stuck there forever, but then he realized that Nightshade seemed to know what she was doing. The tortoiseshell had turned to the big white tom, Cloud, and to Nightpaw's utter surprise she was clambering onto his back while he stood as still as stone, blinking a little every time one of her claws snagged in his thick pelt.

"Well, she solved that one didn't she?" Moonpaw muttered as Nightshade teetered in front of Twilightpaw's cage.

"Who are you?" the she-cat asked as she grappled with the lock on the medicine cat's cage.

"My name is Twilightpaw, I'm the medicine cat apprentice of LightClan."

The she-cat suddenly froze, and Nightpaw could see her pelt bristle as she looked up from the lock into Twilightpaws cage. "What did you say?" she hissed, her eyes glittering menacingly. Nightpaw didn't hear Twilightpaw's reply, because Boar suddenly spoke up.

"These three are apprentices from the Clans, but they aren't here for you. The she-cat is from DarkClan, Nightshade, and she says she's heard stories about you and she doesn't believe them. Please just help them, we'll tell you the story later." The big tom's voice echoed through the wide hall.

"Why should I help Clan cats?" Nightshade grumbled, but she finished with the lock on Twilightpaw's cage, and steadied herself as Cloud shuffled over.

"What's your name?" Nightshade asked as she bent over the lock on Nightpaw's cage.

"Nightpaw, warrior apprentice of LightClan," he replied, watching eagerly as Nightshade removed her claw from the metal contraption and the door to his cage swung swung.

_Free at last_, he thought to himself as he launched out of the cold plastic cage. He'd never enjoyed fresh air more than he did at that moment, flying through the air. Then he landed on the frigid linoleum floor of the pound and the feeling evaporated like mist on a sunny day.

"Nightpaw, huh?" Aira mewed, looking him up and down for the first time. She blinked once or twice, then turned away, uninterested.

Caspian glanced at Nightpaw, a look of contempt on his face, before turning his back to the apprentice and whispering something at Cordelia, who gave a tinkling laugh. Nightpaw felt odd excluded, and huddled against the floor, his fur fluffed against the chill.

A moment later, Moonpaw's face appeared at the mouth of her cage, and then she leaped gracefully down, and Nightpaw was delighted at the look of shock on Caspian's face as he beheld the stunning she-cat, whose pelt was shining like her namesake itself. The look turned to pure jealousy and disgust as Moonpaw bounded up to Nightpaw and pressed her muzzle into his shoulder, purring hard.

"I'd practically forgotten what you looked like," she whispered, flicking her tail over his ear. He purred back, but his eyes were on Caspian.

Finally, after some other clanks and clicks, Boar was free, and the entire group slunk down the hallway, mewing to each other. But they had only made it halfway to the opening when the lights suddenly flickered on, and the door at the other end of the hallway was thrust open by a tall creature with fat, hairless paws.

"Twolegs!" hissed Nightshade! "_Run!"_

The group took off, all of the cats sprinting towards the little square of darkness where Nightshade had entered. Aira had just reached as the Twoleg released an earsplitting screech and charged after them, it's front legs outstretched, its pudgy face purple with rage.

"Go, go, get out!" Nightshade urged, fairly tossing Cordelia through the hole. Nightpaw bunched his muscles and took a mighty leap, flying through the gap and into the open air, where he suddenly found himself with nothing beneath his paws. His eyes widened in fear, but it was too late, and he collided with the ground and rolled wildly until he came to stop in a patch of muddy water. Gasping and wheezing, the dark-furred tom staggered to his feet, wincing as a lancing pain went up his foreleg.

"Moonpaw?" he coughed, his mind whirling.

"Ugh, over here," came the reply.

As soon as his gaze was no longer fuzzy, he took in his surroundings. They were outside, on a patch of mud and wet grass at the base of a huge cement building. About two foxlengths up the side of the building was a tiny window of light, where a Twoleg's fist was shaking and his screams could be heard.

The ten cats, all covered in various amounts of mud and water, were standing in a bedraggled circle, all of their faces turned up to look at the Twoleg paw.

"Is everyone here?" came Nightshade's sharp call.

A chorus of meows went up, until it had been confirmed that everyone had escaped, more or less unharmed. Luckily, the pain in Nightpaw's leg had dimmed, so he knew it wasn't broken. He shook himself and limped towards the group, his whiskers drooping.

"What do we do now?" mewed Twilightpaw bitterly. The small tom, for all his talk, was looking the worst of them all, huddled against the ground, wet and mud-covered, with his white eyes staring, unseeing, at the other cats. He was shivering, and Nightpaw could see a gash above his eye that was still bleeding.

Pitying the young tom, he padded to his side and crouched down, tentatively licking the apprentice's wound. Twilight flinched but didn't move away.

"I couldn't see the hole in the wall," he mewed quietly, in a voice that Nightpaw had never heard him use before. "I tripped, and Boar had to – Boar had to carry me. The Twoleg nearly caught him because of me."

"But we're all safe!" Nightpaw countered.

"Luckily," Twilightpaw grunted, and turned away.

"Alright," came Nightshade's voice, harsh and quick. Nightpaw rose to his feet and padded closer to the other cats to hear their conversation. He found Moonpaw and pressed close to her, trying not to let himself shiver.

"Now that we're all out of there," the tortoiseshell meowed, glancing around at hear family, I think we should get some things straight. First of all – where are the Clan cats? I think everyone hear needs to speak with you."

Nightpaw and Moonpaw glanced at each other, then padded forward, their tails twined. Twilightpaw traipsed over to them as well, and curled into a ball on Moonpaw's other side, his whiskers dripping mud.

"Which Clan are you from?"

Twilight immediately answered, "LightClan."

Nightshade eyes narrowed. "Are all of you from LightClan?"

Nightpaw could feel Moonpaw's whiskers quivering, but she stepped up and mewed, "My name is Moonpaw. I am a warrior apprentice of DarkClan."

Nightshade bristled, and meowed even more sharply, "And what do you know of me?"

"That you murdered Blacktail-"

Nightshade's shriek cut her off, and Caspian rose to his feet, his fangs bared.

"_Blacktail was my friend!_" the tortoiseshell warrior yowled.

"I never said I believed it," Moonpaw replied coldly, raising her chin and meeting Nightshade's furious glare.

There was a moment of frigid silence, and then Nightshade hissed, "Very well. What else is said?"

"That you murdered the deputy, and then were exiled. That's all. But there are many cats who seem to know that this isn't true. It's Graythroat who tells the story, and Snowheart," Moonpaw mewed.

At the mention of the white warrior, Nightshade's face contorted into a mask of rage, and Caspian's too.

"Snowheart is a bloodthirsty traitor, and I'd rip out his throat as soon as look at him," Nightshade hissed, her tail lashing. "Why don't you tell Tigerstar this, _Moonpaw_," she spat. "Snowheart murdered Blacktail."

Moonpaw's eyes bulged, and she gave a little choking cough. "_Snowheart_? But he's-"

"But he's what?" Nightshade meowed. "So nice? Always so sweet and gentle? But of course, charming young Snowheart, the last cat you'd expect to have _blood on his claws._"


End file.
